The Ankh and the Archeologists
by Green Platypus
Summary: The gang is in Egypt to assist in the excavation of the Tomb of Prince Ankha. When tomb robbers attack the camp and raise the dead prince he vows revenge. With the gang scattered across the desert they must beat the mummy to the lost city of Shakenkamen and solve a thousand year old mystery before he can raise his army of the undead. Sequel to The Sasquatches and the Survivors. AU


**I figured that maybe it's better to put these in the beginning, so if anyone wants a soundtrack to this story; Part 1 goes with really any of the suites from the Mummy, Part 4 goes with "Camel Race" from The Mummy soundtrack, Part 6 goes with "The Crypt" from the mummy soundtrack, Part 8 goes good with "Tauger Attack" or "Mummia Attack" from the mummy soundtrack (detecting a theme yet?) Part 12 goes with "The Empty Quarter" from the Uncharted: Drakes Deception soundtrack, Part 13 goes with "Basket Game" from the Raiders of the Lost Ark soundtrack, Part 14 goes with "My First Bus Ride" from The Mummy Returns soundtrack, Part 19 goes with "The Map Room" ****from the Raiders of the Lost Ark soundtrack** (Its more for the end of that chapter, but works with the beginning too) Parts 23, 24, and 26 all work well with any of the fight music from The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor I would suggest "A Call to Adventure", "Rick and Evy Battle", "Shielding a Son" they all share the same basic theme. Thanks for reading, enjoy Chapter 7 of The Dracula Chronicles.  


**Part 1: Egypt; 1290 BC**

The city of Shakenkamen was among the most beautiful in the ancient world. At its height it was home to towering obelisks and glittering halls. The streets were alive with merchants and traders. Perhaps greatest of all was the Palace of Ankha, son of the pharaoh and prince of Egypt.

By his father's decree, Ankha had dominion over the city. It was his personal kingdom. As a show of his power, Ankha commissioned the grand palace. It was to be the greatest edifice in all of Egypt. It consisted of massive stone columns and deep blue fountains. In the center was the royal vault which contained the treasures and archives of the kingdom.

It was in his palace that his brother, the priest Hotep led a rebellion, and killed the prince. Enraged, the pharaoh sent his army to invade the city. The army took the city quickly and Hotep was put to death. His last words were 'I did what had to be done, for the future'. Worried for his son's soul; the pharaoh made his priests give Ankha the blessing of stone, the power to overcome death for his own protection, to control the land of Egypt itself, and raise an army of the undead in the pursuit of vengeance.

**Part 2: The Expedition**

The desert sun was relentless. It beat down mercilessly on everything in its path. Of course the only thing in its path up until yesterday was sand. Then the expedition came. Fifty trucks, rolling into the desert; in the lead truck were the leader and financier of the expedition. The leader was a man of thirty five, a native of Australia. His name was Melbourne O' Reilly, and he had been hand selected to lead the dig because he had a reputation as the kind of archeologist who could handle a dig site in harsh conditions, and the desert in this area of Egypt was one of the harshest. Next to him was a much younger man, the eighteen year old prince Omar Kara, an Egyptian archeology student whose family had personally financed the expedition. The GPS device on the dashboard beeped.

"Looks like we're here" O' Reilly said. He picked up the CV receiver and radioed other trucks. "Everyone, stop, we're setting up camp here. Prince Omar. Welcome to the dig site." Melbourne waved his hand at the empty desert.

"This is the tomb?" Omar said in disbelief.

"According to the GPS and our research yes."

Quickly the trucks unloaded and set to work. Tents were erected and the trucks were arranged in a protective circle around the site. Workers and scientists of all nationalities began dividing up the land into small squares.

"I don't understand; how can there be an entire temple here?" Omar asked as he and Melbourne surveyed the work.

"You're the student, figure it out."

"The temple was specially built for Ankha, and never used again.. Add to that thousands of years of shifting desert…"

"And?" Melbourne said egging him on.

"The temple becomes buried."

"Exactly"

"So when do you think we will find it?"

"Oh, if we're lucky, maybe a couple of months, what we're hoping for are some pottery shards, maybe some broken wall fragments.

"Mister O' Reilly, over here!" One of the men called excitedly.

Melbourne and Omar ran to join him.

"What is … it?" Melbourne began to stutter as he saw what the man had dug up. "Crikey; that's bloody amazing."

Jutting sharply out of the sand was a golden pointed tip of something very large. Carved into the gold were a series of hieroglyphs.

"Here stands the Tomb of the Pharaoh's Son" Omar translated.

"Prince, I think we've just found your lost grave." Melbourne laughed.

**Part 3: Fight Training**

"I want to learn how to fight" Velma said as she and Daphne were hanging around the house one day in July.

"What?" Daphne asked startled by the request.

"Teach me how to fight. With everything that we do, I think it would be useful."

"Okay" Daphne said still uneasily.

Half an hour later, in the gym of Daphne's house, the two girls stood opposite each other in the family's boxing ring. Fred, Shaggy, Scooby, Eric, Shannon, Jimmy, and Daphne's butler Jenkins stood to the side watching.

"Okay, first things first, try to hit me" Daphne said.

"Why?" Velma asked uneasily.

"Just try."

Velma cocked he fist back and swung it. Daphne caught it in the air and spun it around behind Velma's back.

"Should I try that again?"

"Nope, now you're in this position, what do you do?"

"Um"

"Fighting is about adaptation" Daphne said releasing Velma's arm. "If you have a plan to begin with, it'll probably be gone within the first ten seconds of the fight. You have to adapt."

Daphne threw a punch at Velma which she clumsily dodged.

"Hey, aren't there rules to this?" Velma asked incredulously.

"To a sanctioned fight, yes; you wanted to learn how to defend yourself. There are no rules, no regulations and no timeouts in a life or death fight." Daphne said jumping out of the way of Velma's awkward punch. Then she kicked out. Velma attempted to jump back but tripped and fell into the ropes. "Okay, nice try" Daphne said helping Velma up. They separated back to the edges of the ring. "Jenkins, the bow staffs please." Daphne said. Immediately Jenkins pulled two long wooden staffs off the shelf and tossed them to Daphne who expertly caught them. "These are bow staffs, learning how to use them properly takes years of training, but if you ever get into a fight and need an edge, there are a lot of objects that can be used like these."

Velma took one and held it uneasily. Daphne swung it towards her and Velma blocked. Suddenly, Velma's face lit up with an idea. She dropped one end of the staff low and swept it along the floor striking at Daphne's feet and catching her off guard. Daphne tripped and fell to the floor, catching herself as she did and launching back up.

"Nice one" She said as she returned the weapons to Jenkins. "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"I used to take hockey lessons before my parents said it was too dangerous." She answered shyly.

"But the vigilantism they're okay with" Daphne said sarcastically.

"Something like that" Velma said checking her phone. "Oh my God" Velma gasped excitedly.

"What is it?"

"You remember that application I put in to volunteer at that archeological dig in Egypt?"

"Vaguely"

"Well, some spots just opened up, and they want to know if I know anyone else who's like to help out."

"I'm in" Daphne said.

"Me too" Fred added.

"All right" Jimmy answered.

"Sorry, crutches" Shannon said.

"I've got some other stuff I gotta do." Eric said.

Noticing he hadn't spoken up, Fred nudged Shaggy. Shaggy took a quick look around before throwing his hands up in defeat.

"Yeah okay, I'm like, in" He said as Scooby rolled his eyes and raised his paw too.

"Reah, rokay"

**Part 4: Welcome to the Dig**

Dust swirled as the trucks stopped. The five teens and dog were escorted out by two armed guards.

"What's with the extra security huh?" Fred asked noticing the large rifles.

"This is a high profile dig sight; it is only in the interest of protection." The guard answered.

"Velma are you really going to were that fishing vest?" Daphne asked.

"It's practical and it's got large water tight pockets." Velma said closing the matter as all the boys barely suppressed smirks.

They were led up a large dune. The sand slipped under their feet as the hot sun beat down on them.

"So, like, what kind of stuff are we gonna see?" Shaggy asked.

"Large ruins, trap laden temples?" Fred asked.

"No, this isn't an Indiana Jones movie, at most, you'll see desert divided up into squares while some grad students analyze bits of pottery."

One of the guards smirked as they stepped over the crest of the hill. Below was a massive encampment. Trucks were kicking up dirt, workers were picking at rocks. The sounds of engines and metal against rock reverberated through the air. The smell of rock and dirt filled the atmosphere. Most impressive of all was the huge columned sand colored building in the center.

"Welcome to The Dig" The guard said.

The gang was led down into the camp and to a large tent. Inside were two men. One had unkempt blond hair forced underneath a wide brimmed hat; he looked about thirty. The other was a Middle Eastern boy of about their age with neat black hair and dark expensive looking sunglasses.

"Oh, good, I was wondering when my new assistants would be showing up." The blond man said. "I'm Melbourne O' Reilly; I'm in charge of this dig. This is Prince Omar Kara."

"It's nice to meat you all" Prince Omar said.

"Now let me see if I have this right" O' Reilly said picking up a clipboard off of the table. "Fredrick Bradley Jones"

Fred raised his hand.

"Norville Michael O' Flannery- Rogers"

"I prefer Shaggy" He said embarrassedly.

"Right, Shaggy, okay James Wyatt Proudwolf"

"Present"

"Says here you've got experience with archeology"

"Just some identification at the Anasazi dwellings in my old reservation."

"Experience is experience" O' Reilly said. "_Lady _Daphne Amelia Sandra Blake"

Daphne backed up slightly as O' Reilly recited her name.

"_Lady _Blake, well always good to have more nobility on the team."

"It's just…"

O' Reilly held up his hand.

"Just messing with you. Now then, Velma Alicia Dinkley must be you." He said pointing at Velma. "You're the one volunteered for this, well nice to meet you all. Oh, and I understand one of you brought their dog. If you'd like, we could use a sniffer dog. First though, why don't I show you around?"

O' Reilly led them out into the dig site.

"Six months ago we found the central obelisk you see there" He said pointing to the towering structure rising from the building. "It had been buried to the top in the sand. Once we excavated it to the bottom we found the rest of the building. The temple was completed in 1291 BC. It was built as a tomb for Prince Ankha, the pharaoh's son. History remembers him as a just ruler. In 1290 he was killed by his brother Hotep who was later executed for treason… Whoa mate, watch the trucks!" He yelled as a pickup full of timbers and dirt sped past. "Everyone's been very excited since we began."

"Jinkies, I can see why" Velma said staring at the city in awe.

"It is marvelous, the ingenuity of our ancestors" Prince Omar said.

"At this point in history my ancestors were still living in huts" Daphne marveled.

"I'll bet it was a nice hut though wasn't it Lady Blake" Fred joked. Daphne shot him a sour look.

"So far we haven't been able to clear out the sand blocking the door. After thousands of years it's become packed so tightly that we're not able to just pour it out. We're not even sure how deep it goes."

"So, what will we be doing?" Velma asked.

"You and Mister Proudwolf have the most experience so you'll be helping Prince Omar by the temple. You two…" He said pointing to Fred and Daphne "…will be cataloging whatever is found in that tent over there" He pointed to a canvas tent with several wooden tables set up in it. "You…" He pointed to Shaggy. "…and your dog, we need you to try sniffing around the edges of the temple looking for any evidence of human burial or the like. Can he handle that?" He asked pointing to Scooby.

"Like sure thing sir" Shaggy said. "By the way, when's dinner?"

"Sundown in…" He checked his watch. "…five hours"

**Part 5: Work**

Velma knelt down in the sand at the door to the temple brushing away dirt. Omar was right next to her and Jimmy was standing a few feet away.

"Are you really a prince?" Velma asked.

"Yes" Omar answered. "When I was speaking about the ingenuity of the ancestors, I meant it literally. I am a direct descendent Hotep. It is one of the reasons my family funded this expedition, we wished to clarify some of the ambiguity surrounding the legend."

"What kind of ambiguity?" Velma asked intrigued.

"The records of his rebellion give no clear motive, only that he claimed to have done what he thought necessary. As such, he has been written off as a ruthless murderer."

"And you hope to prove that he's innocent?"

"I hope to find the truth, whatever it is. It is said that he kept a record of his rebellion. If I could find that here, then the world could finally know the truth."

"Noble" Velma said admiringly. "That's very noble."

Fred and Daphne sat on wooden benches inside the tent. Sunlight streamed in even through the thick canvas. All around them workers and scientists were moving wheelbarrows of sand and stone. The tables were littered with bits and pieces of pottery or fragments of stone walls. Some had markings on them and some didn't. It was the job of Fred, Daphne, and some of the others there to catalog and label every bit.

"So, why were you signed up as _Lady_ Blake?" Fred asked passing along a shard of ceramic.

"Does it matter?" She answered as she took the piece and stared intently at the marking on its side. "What would you call that shape there?"

"Coffee stain?" Fred shrugged.

Daphne wrote down 'coffee stain like blotch' in the log book.

"Now come on, what's with the title? I knew you were rich but…"

"The title is passed down through Blake Hall in Scotland. Shannon and my sisters are all 'Lady Blake' too. My father and Uncle George are both 'Lord Blake'."

"What about your mom and your aunt?"

"No, the title is passed down directly, not by marriage. If we ever had kids, they'd be Lord or Lady Blake when referring to the castle."

At the sound of 'we', Fred's eyes widened. He was about to say something when one of the workers tripped behind him and spilled the contents of his wheelbarrow.

"You all right man?" Fred said as he kneeled down to help clean up.

"Yeah, sorry, I guess I've been forgetting to get water, it's been an exciting day."

"Yeah… hey have we met? You look really familiar."

"I don't think so." The man said as he refilled his wheelbarrow and departed.

"Hey you left this notebook!' Fred yelled as the man sped off. "Huh" Fred said as he pocketed it, thinking he'd give it to him later.

"So, if it only pertains to the castle, why are you signed up with the title?" Fred said, abandoning his earlier thoughts.

Daphne sighed.

"The sign ups came from school. When my dad first signed me up in America he put the title out of habit, I guess it stuck through up until now. Does it matter?"

"No, just interesting" Fred shrugged.

Shaggy led Scooby around the edges of the temple sniffing at the walls.

"Anything yet buddy?" He asked wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Ruh, uh" Scooby answered.

"Scooby, you remember what happened back in California? What I did."

"Reah"

"I don't know what that was. I lost it on those things. I'm not like that man."

Scooby sighed thinking that this was hardly the time

"Raybe rou are"

"Oh, like, thanks" Shaggy shot back hurt.

"Raggy, rour rends rere in ranger, rou raved them. Rust rike rou ralways roo. Ratever ris is, rit's good. Rit's rotecting us."

"Like I guess" Shaggy sighed. "Hey what's that" He bent down into the sand as something caught his eye. Shifting his hand into the hot sand, he fished out a small golden object about the size and shape of a quarter. He turned it over in his finger a few times.

"Kind'a cool" He mused absently as he examined the carving on the side, a dog or wolf or something.

"Ssssssssssssssss"

They whirled around to see a hissing, black, hooded, cobra, rearing to strike.

"Oh sh…"

"Hisssssss" The snake hissed furiously as it was forced into a large net.

"Whoa there!" O' Reilly yelled as he tied the net up and handed it off to a passing worker. "Go release that outside the camp will you?"

"Hey, like thanks man" Shaggy panted.

"No problem, gotta watch out for that here. Asps, very dangerous. Find anything yet?"

"Not yet" Shaggy said as he leaned on the wall.

_SHHHHHCHUNKCLICK_

The wall slid back revealing a crack just big enough for someone to reach into running vertically from the top of the wall to the bottom. O' Reilly's jaw dropped. He reached into the crack and pulled.

"Give me a hand here mate."

Shaggy and Scooby both reached in and began pulling. With one final grunt, the wall slid back revealing a doorway.

"Crikey" O' Reilly said awestruck. "Boys!" He yelled. "We've found something!"

**Part 6: The Tomb of Ankha**

O' Reilly handed off flashlights to everyone.

"Are you sure you don't have anyone else more experienced you'd like to come with you?" Velma asked.

"No, your friends discovered it; you get to be the first. Just stay behind me and stay close."

"Like, you know, maybe Scoob and I should hang back here." Shaggy said nervously.

"I've got Scooby Snacks" Daphne said waving a baggy in front of them.

Shaggy and Scooby's eyes widened.

"Okay" They said in unison.

Melbourne led the way into the building. It was pitch black except for the glow of the flashlights and the sunlight from outside. The room was musty and cobwebs lined the walls. Shaggy heard a crunch beneath his feet. He looked down to see a small skeleton, like a rat.

"Like, watch your feet guys" He gulped.

"Small rodent skeletons, that means snakes right?" Velma asked scanning the floor with her flashlight.

"Yeah, keep an eye out" Melbourne answered as he ran his hand over the wall, careful not to touch it. "Hieroglyphs here" He said. "Omar, get some pictures."

Omar took out a camera and snapped pictures of the wall.

"What do they say?" Fred asked.

"Here lies the Lost Son of the Pharaoh" Omar read excitedly.

"Ankha, because he was killed young."

"Sounds right" O' Reilly said.

"Like what about these" Shaggy said looking at a painting of a man cringing in pain before a regal looking figure.

"That depicts Ankha using the flower of the fire stone, a plant that he cultivated in his gardens that could kill when ingested.

"Looks like the stairs go deeper inside." Melbourne said as he climbed down.

They all followed down into the darkness.

"I feel a torch here" Melbourne said. "Anyone got a light?"

Fred took out his lighter and flicked it open. He lit the torch. The room was illuminated by the eerie glow of the fire. They were in a small square room with hieroglyphs carved along the walls.

"I recognize these." Velma said. "These show a person's trip into the underworld.

"Very good Miss Dinkley" Melbourne said.

"That means that Ankha's tomb must be beyond this door." Omar said excitedly.

"Probably, but now that leaves us at a dead end for a while. We have to wait for permission from the Cairo Museum before we can break the seal on the tomb." Melbourne said while examining the door.

"How long will that take?" Omar asked.

A beeping, almost like a car horn sounded from the surface.

"If that's who I think it is, not long at all."

**Part 7: The Curse**

Once everyone had emerged from the tomb they saw the car that had been honking its horn. It was a rather nice car to be driving in the desert. Inside were two men. One was a very tall skinny Egyptian man with a thin mustache and a red fez. The other was shorter and stockier. He had receding brown hair and a jovial face. He was speaking to one of the workers in a British accent.

"Doctor Najib" Melbourne said greeting the Egyptian man. "Professor Muller" He said to the British man. "It's good to see you here; you're not going to believe what we've just found."

"Oh yes" The British man said. "By the way, has the extra security I sent arrived?"

"Indeed it has professor."

"Good good, can't be too careful with a discovery like this."

It was night time once the tomb had been inspected and cleaned out. Everyone sat around a dining table in the mess tent eating dinner.

"So, you've seen the tomb. What we need to know now is can we break the seal and go inside?"

"It certainly is tempting" Muller said. "There's so much we could learn."

"There is also danger." Doctor Najib said. "It is said that the pharaoh put a curse on Ankha's tomb."

"Who said all this stuff?" Fred asked.

"Come now Baltus, you don't seriously believe in that old curse do you?" Muller laughed.

"Some legends have their bases in fact." Najib retorted.

"Like I know I'm gonna regret asking, but what exactly is the curse"

"When Ankha was killed his father feared for his soul; so he had the priests give him a blessing. If his tomb was ever desecrated Ankha would rise with the power to take vengeance."

"Rengeance?"

"He would have the power to turn men to stone, to control the land of Egypt by any means, and to take the city and command an army of the undead to put Egypt under his reign."

"Zoinks" Shaggy gulped.

"They would sail on a boat from the underworld itself to conquer the world. This is why we must not open the tomb" Najib said.

"It's getting late" Muller yawned. "Why don't we get some sleep and discuss this in the morning?"

"Like easier said than done man."

**Part 8: Raiders**

It was freezing that night. It felt so strange, hot the gang could handle, they were Floridians, but this was cold. The wind howled through the desert. Other than that, it was silent until…

"What the hell's going on?" Fred yelled as he heard gun rapport from outside.

A soldier burst in and Fred grabbed the barrel of the gun immediately. He thrust the hot metal into the man's face and followed with a blow to the gut.

"I'm never going camping again" Shaggy yelled shrilly as he kicked his cot into the face of the attacker.

Fred grabbed the gun off of the unconscious man and swung it over his shoulder.

"You ever use one of those?" Shaggy asked as another attacker came in.

"Nope" Fred said as he pulled out the magazine and shoved it into the oncoming enemy's face. The he held the gun by the barrel and swung it at the man's body.

Fred, Shaggy, Jimmy, and Scooby ran outside to face a scene of chaos. There were hundreds more soldiers ransacking the camp. Flaming tents and muzzle flashes lit up the night.

Shaggy ducked as another tried to grab for him. He thrust his knee up into the man's groin and punched as hard as he could at his face. Scooby did the rest, he ran behind the man as he stumbled causing him to fall to the ground. Shaggy pulled a taser pistol off the soldier's belt and two more off of the ones Fred had taken out and handed them off to Fred and Jimmy.

"We gotta find the girls" Fred said.

"Like, where was their tent?" Shaggy yelled.

Across the camp they saw a soldier fly out of a tent and fall unconscious.

"Found' em" Jimmy said.

Velma brought down her heavy book on the attacker's neck. At the front of the tent, Daphne delivered a flying kick to another soldier and sent him out the door.

"Why does this always happen to us?" Velma groaned.

"I guarantee you that everyone who didn't come is not doing stuff like this." Daphne said as she led Velma out of the tent and right into the boys.

"Oh good, not just us then" Fred yelled over the noise.

_Bang! Bang!_

The gang turned to see two soldiers behind them clutch their legs in pain. Melbourne O' Reilly came out of the dust firing two pistols. Prince Omar was right behind him.

"Get to the trucks!" He yelled. "The nearest town is five miles to the south, get the hell out of here!"

"Yes sir" Fred yelled as they ran.

Three soldiers moved in front of them. Without stopping Fred fired his taser off and hit the lead right in the face. Seeing him, Shaggy and Jimmy did likewise. They made it to the trucks and piled into one. Fred turned the keys in the ignition.

"I hope this thing has enough gas left in it."

The truck came to life and Fred pushed the gas pedal down to the floor. The truck sped away into the desert. In the rear view mirror he could see two motorcycles coming right for them.

"Don't these guys ever give up, what do they want?"

One of them pulled a long tube off of their back.

"Is that a bazooka?" Jimmy yelled.

"With our luck it's a nuke!" Fred answered.

The man fired and a rocket shot towards them and connected with the back of the truck. It flew into the air, twisted, and hit the sand upside down.

"Everyone okay"

"No"

"Everyone alive"

"Yep"

Slowly Fred began felling a stinging on his face.

"Sandstorm!" Omar yelled as everyone was blinded.

Everyone climbed out of the truck with sand shooting into their skin. Hearing an engine Daphne made a guess and a kick and hoped that both were right. She connected and heard someone fall to the ground. Now that it was close she could see the black motorcycle whose rider she had struck. She grabbed Fred's hand and motioned for him to get on behind her. Hearing more footsteps coming she sped off in what she hoped was the right direction.

Shaggy and Scooby ran to escape the pain of the blowing sand. They tried to cover their eyes as the ground was blown out from under their feet. They tumbled down the dune and collapsed into the desert.

Velma crouched low against the sand. It pelted her skin and scratched at her glasses. In the distance she thought she heard an engine and footsteps. She heard a metallic click. Then as quickly as the storm had started it stopped. Velma looked to her side. Jimmy and Price Omar were with her. Then she looked up. Standing over her was a very large muscular African American man with dark sunglasses and a scimitar strapped to his back, and a pistol in his hand. Behind him were five more soldiers with rifles leveled.

"Sheiβe" Velma cursed.

**Part 9: Amelia Von Butch**

The men led them back to camp by the barrels of their guns. Tents were trampled. Tables were overturned. Piles of equipment were smoldering in the flames. All of the workers had been corralled and were being held at gunpoint. The highest concentration of soldiers was by the temple, where Muller, Najib, and O' Reilly were being held.

"Who are you people? What do you want?" Omar said angrily.

"Quiet" The man grunted hitting Omar in the back of the head.

He led them right up to the temple and shoved them in with the others.

"Where are the others" Melbourne asked.

"I think they got away" Velma replied hopefully.

"The desert will take care of them." A Female British accent said sinisterly.

Two women walked out of the ranks of soldiers. One was blond and very tall with an attractive pointed face; she had a gun holstered at her side. The other was shorter with short black hair and a dark pair of sunglasses.

"Amelia Von Butch" Melbourne hissed disdainfully at the blond woman.

"Melbourne O' Reilly" She said in that same smooth British accent.

"You two know each other?" Velma asked.

"Melbourne and I are old acquaintances" She smirked. "I recognize the prince, but who are the others?"

"They're just assistants Amelia, let them go"

"No" She said drawing a knife and pressing it to Melbourne's throat. "Now you're going to go down there and open that tomb. Do you understand dear?"

"You will not open the tomb" Dr. Najib said pushing in front of her.

"Yes, I believe I will" She said drawing her gun and shooting Dr. Najib in the chest. He staggered backwards with his face in shock.

"Baltus!" Professor Muller screamed. "You sick woman, if he dies do you have any idea what a great mind we will lose."

"Shut up Muller, unless you want to be next. Now, we are going into that tomb and we are taking that mummy; in the interest of preservation" She added as an afterthought.

"Bloody tomb robber" Melbourne mumbled.

**Part 10: Ankha**

Von Butch led the group down into the tomb. The sun was just beginning to rise outside.

"Break the seal" She said.

Her guards set to work. The stuck crowbars into the cracks of the door and pushed. The door gave with a scrape.

"At last"

They walked inside and Von Butch lit the torches illuminating the room. There were pieces of whole pottery and golden statues lining the walls and floors.. In the center of the back wall was a huge golden sarcophagus with the face of a young man carved into it, a young man who looked a lot like Omar.

"Everyone, meet Ankha" Von Butch said swinging lid of the sarcophagus open.

Inside was a fully wrapped and preserved mummy with a golden funeral mask echoing the face on the sarcophagus. Hanging around its neck was a golden ankh. Von Butch reached inside and snapped the ankh off.

"That's desecration!" Velma yelled.

"Agreed" Von Butch said as she pocketed the Ankh. "Natasha, when does our ride to Cairo get here?"

"It should be soon" The woman in the sunglasses answered.

"Exel…"

The torches blew out. The room was thrown into darkness. Suddenly, curdling screams echoed around the chamber. Everyone scrambled for the exit. When they burst out into the sunlight they came upon a horrific sight. Mummified soldiers were attacking Von Butch's men. Their bony, half bandaged hands wielded swords that mercilessly cut them down. As the group came out of the tomb the soldiers rounded on them. Von Butch and her men raised their guns and fired, but the mummies were too quick. They crouched and rolled and dodged until they were up close, then they slashed with their swords. Von Butch's assistant Campbell drew his own sword and tried to engage the nearest mummy in a fight with that, but the mummy's sword simply snapped his blade in two. The group began to close ranks as the mummies encircled them. Professor Muller took the Ankh from Von Butch and held it out in front of him.

"Please, we are sorry she disturbed the tomb" he pleaded going into a bow. "Accept the Ankh back and let us go."

The nearest mummy reached out and picked Muller up by the collar. He threw him into the dark tomb. Everyone waited for the thud of his body hitting the ground, but it never came. Instead there was a light shuffling noise as another mummy stepped forth from the tomb. This one was not emaciated, but still wrapped neatly with a familiar golden mask on its face.

"Ankha" Von Butch gasped.

Ankha strode to one of Von Butch's men and grabbed him by the throat. He cocked his head in contemplation then threw the man aside.

"Your language is… Interesting" The mummy said in a raspy, sandy voice.

"Where's Professor Muller?" Melbourne asked seriously.

The mummy motioned to his guards. They sent inside the tomb and returned with two human bodies, but something was wrong. They were rigid, and unmoving. They carried them into the light and set them down. One was Professor Muller and the other was Doctor Najib, but they were sandy and stiff.

"They've been turned to stone" Jimmy gulped.

"I have no need for these two" Ankha said taking a sword from one of his guards and striking Doctor Najib, who crumbled into dust. Everyone shuddered. "However, I may still require a select few to help me navigate your world." He walked forward to Von Butch. "Will you and your soldiers serve me?" He said leaning close to her.

"We will, but them…" She said pointing to Velma, Omar, Jimmy, and Melbourne. "…They are not with me, you may kill them."

"I will not!" Ankha growled.

"May I ask why?"

"You may not"

_Chop, Chop, Chop, Chop, Chop_

A black helicopter appeared over the horizon. A small sandstorm blew as it landed in the middle of the camp.

"Your chariot sire" Von Butch said as the helicopter landed. "Where is it you would like to go?"

"Where is the gem that completes the ankh?" Ankha asked holding up the Ankh necklace that had been taken from Professor Muller.

"It is in Cairo my lord."

"Then take me to Cairo." Ankha said striking Professor Muller's petrified form into dust.

**Part 11: The Notebook**

The motorcycle engine sputtered as it died. Fred and Daphne, beaten and bruised, breathed a sigh of relief that they had made it to a town. It was daytime now and the sun was shining over the buildings. Wearily they wheeled the bike into town.

"I got five hundred from that guy for the bike" Daphne said coming out of the local garage.

"I had a hundred in my wallet" Fred shrugged. "How much does that give us?"

"Well, with my credit card, quite a bit." Daphne smirked.

"Must be nice to be rich" Fred said.

"Excuse me"

"I'm just saying, it must me nice not to have to worry about not having money Lady Blake."

"Oh come on, just because some ancestor of mine impressed a monarch three hundred years ago… "

"On both sides. Your mom is nobility too. Does your family have some… thing about only marrying other nobles?"

"Is that what this is, you think you're beneath us?"

"Am I?"

"Oh for the love of… do you want to know how my parents met? My mom's family's restaurant in Scotland was being robbed and my dad helped her out. It wasn't some arranged marriage for money, it was an adventure, just like with us. The only reason that my dad put the title on anything was because his mom got him into the habit, he never got me into that habit, he doesn't like using the title, he thinks it's old fashioned."

"Your parents met like we did?" Fred asked with a smile.

"Yes" Daphne replied with a sigh and a smirk. "Now what's the plan?"

"We need clothes and we need to find someplace where we can get to a phone."

"Who are we gonna call?"

"We could try the police, or the museum."

"Might as well try both" Daphne said.

"Let's try and get a room at that hotel too" Fred said jerking his thumb behind her.

Twenty minutes later Daphne walked into the hotel room as Fred was finished showing the sand off. She stuck some clothes through the door and Fred took them.

"These seem pretty heavy for the desert" Fred said examining the blue button up long sleeve shirt and khaki pants that Daphne had brought him.

"The fabric breathes well and it'll protect you from any more sandstorms." She called through the door. "Trust me; the people here know how to make clothes for the desert. I got you a bandana too, in case we do run into anymore sandstorms." She handed Fred an orange bandana as he walked out of the bathroom fully dressed.

"Nice" He smirked tying it around his neck. "I called the police" He said as Daphne went into the bathroom to shower and change. "They told us to sit tight here and wait for someone to come out."

Fred looked through the pockets of his old pants to retrieve his wallet. Something else hit his hand. Fred pulled out the leather notebook that the man had dropped back at the dig sight. He flipped through it. There were some dates and notes on him, and then something caught his eye. One of the pages said '_22:00- Raid_'.

"Twenty Two Hundred… ten o' clock, that's when they raided the camp." Fred said under his breath.

He looked at the next entry; '_July 10- Cairo Museum_'.

"That's the day after tomorrow. Daph!" he called. "I think I know where those people are going next.

**Part 12: Desert March**

"So hot out" Shaggy moaned as he and Scooby continued their trek across the desert.

"Rood" Scooby groaned.

"I know buddy, we'll get food soon, I promise. There has to be a town or a settlement somewhere."

They continued walking. There were nothing but sand dunes as far as the eye could see. The sun beat harshly as sweat beaded down Shaggy's forehead. Every so often they would stumble with exhaustion and slide down in the sand.

"There'll be an oasis somewhere buddy, with cool water, and palm trees."

"Rand Rooby snacks"

"And Scooby Snacks, and a burger place where we can get some shakes and some icy sodas."

They walked for what seemed like miles. Eventually nightfall came. The wind began to howl and the temperature dropped rapidly.

"Ss' cold, isn't buddy" Shaggy shivered as he and Scooby huddled together in the sand.

The sun rose again and they continued, never stopping.

"Rotter" Scooby croaked as he spotted a stone well set into the ground.

"Mom, Dad, Maggie, Velma. They're here Scoob, I see them."

"Raggy roo reed rotter"

"I see them" he said as he collapsed into the sand.

Scooby ran over to him and got his arm wrapped around his neck. He dragged Shaggy over to the well.

"Hey, at least I'm with you bro" Shaggy whispered as Scooby pulled him along.

"Ralways Raggy, rothers."

Scooby's legs gave way next to the well.

"Rothers" he said as he passed out.

"Brothers" Shaggy agreed as he fell into the sand.

Shadows began appearing over them. Two men leading horses kneeled down by them. One of them pulled some water from the well and poured it into their mouths. They pulled them up and put them on the horses.

"We will make camp here" One of them said.

**Part 13: The Streets of Al- Famir**

Fred and Daphne sat outside a little café in the town they had escaped to, Al- Famir.

"You see here" Fred said showing Daphne the journal. "This is a log of the attack."

"And you think this next date" She said taking the notebook. "Is their next destination."

"Yes" Fred said taking a sip of his soda. "These clothes are good" Fred said rolling up his sleeves.

"I told you" Daphne said. She was dressed much the same as him, in short sleeve button up shirt, Khakis, and a pocketed vest. "So do we tell the cops when they get here?"

"I guess so… Hey!" Fred yelled as someone ran up to the table and took the journal.

Fred took off after him across the market stalls. The man, whoever he was, was fast. Fred ducked behind a fruit stand as the man pulled out a gun and fired. This time he stayed low and out of sight as he chased the man across the market. Some of the merchants yelled at him but he couldn't understand what they were saying. He kept his eye on the man as he came up behind him by a stall filled with hanging kitchenware. He caught his reflection in one of the pans, unfortunately so did his target. The man whirled around gun in hand. Fred pulled one of the pans off its hook and swung it at the man's face. He returned with a strong punch to Fred's gut. Fred grabbed hold of the top of the market stall, jumped up, and kicked the man in the chest. He staggered backward and landed in a cart filled with straw. Fred pulled the book off of him and ran back for Daphne. The man launched himself up and pursued.

"Why don't the bad guys ever just give up?" Fred grumbled.

He looked behind him to see the man pulling his gun again. Fred ducked and the bullet sailed over him. No, it wasn't a bullet, Fred noticed, but some kind of dart. Fred ducked into an alley and waited for the man to pass. Except, the man just turned right into the alley, gun leveled.

"Yeah, I guess it was too much to hope for that to work twice in my life." Fred said as he grabbed the man's wrist and held the gun into the air.

He jerked his knee up striking his attacker. The man doubled in pain. Fred punched but the man caught his wrist and tossed him against the wall. Fred kicked and the man released. Fred grunted as he hit the sand taking a handful and tossing it into the man's face, then jerking his knee up and knocking him out cold. Fred knelt down by the man and pushed away his jacket revealing a shoulder holster like the kind FBI agents used on TV. He took the gun and examined it. It looked like a normal gun. He fished a magazine out of the pouch on the holster.

"Caution, darts cause instant loss of consciousness." Fred read off the label.

"Fred!" He heard from the street.

He took the gun and put the holster on. Then he ran into the street to see a second man holding a kukri knife to Daphne's throat.

"Gimme the book, and I'll let her go."

"You know how to use that knife?" Fred taunted drawing the gun.

"Put the gun down lad, she's a pretty one, wouldn't want to mess that up."

"I'm just saying, you're friend there went down pretty easy."

"Those bruises on your face say differently" The man laughed pointing the knife at Fred.

Daphne took that opportunity to grab the man's knife arm and struck it with her other hand. The man's arm emitted a sharp cracking noise. Daphne uppercut the man and he fell to the floor.

"That wasn't your usual style" Fred said holstering gun.

"No, that I learned from you." She said picking up the knife. "Nice. There's two train tickets in her, for Cairo."

"Okay, No worries" Fred said pulling out his wallet and flashing his school ID to the gawking crowd . "I'm agent O' Connell, this is Agent Carnahan; we're with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Espionage and Logistics Division. These two men are dangerous criminals, lock them up and call the police; we've got a train to catch."

**Part 14: Robbing the Museum**

It was sundown by the time they made it to Cairo. Von Butch transferred them from the helicopter to a black van that drove them to the museum. She also provided robes for Ankha and his guards to disguise themselves.

"Do you really think that he's a mummy?" Jimmy whispered to Velma as they were led into the museum.

"After everything we've seen, I'm skeptical."

"Quiet you" One of Von Butch's men growled.

"They're being rather calm about it, aren't they?" Velma whispered once the man had passed.

Von Butch walked up to the museum guards at the back door.

"We're closed now" They said.

Von butch drew her gun and fired at the two men. Both fell with long darts sticking out of their necks.

"Go clear out the rest of the building"

Four of her men went into the building rifles first. Ten minutes later one of them came out.

"All clear"

Inside there were guards all lying on the floor with the same darts sticking out of their necks.

"Oh relax" Von Butch said noting Velma's horrified expression. "They're tranquilizers."

"Where is the gem?" Ankha asked purposefully.

"In the main hall my lord."

They walked through the empty museum, even with lights on it looked creepy. More bodies were slumped over in each exhibit. The only sound was the footsteps of the soldiers and their captives. Finally they stopped in the largest room. Above was a balcony circling the rim of the exhibit. The walls were lined with cases of jewels, and pots. In the middle of the room was a display case holding a large red gem.

"Take positions on the balcony" Von Butch ordered her men.

"At last" The mummy growled walking up to the display case. Once again he took a sword from his guard and swung at the case, shattering it.

He slowly moved his thin, bandaged hand toward the gem and closed his fingers around it. Then he removed the ankh from his robes and placed the gem into the loop at the top.

"To the sphinx my lord?" Von Butch said staring longingly at the ankh.

"Yes, to the…"

_Thud!_

One of Von Butch's guards fell off the balcony. The others readied their rifles. Another one fell as a young redhead kicked him off .

"Daphne!" Velma yelled excitedly.

"Fred!" Jimmy yelled as a young blond boy shot a dart into the nearest guard.

"What is this?" Ankha growled.

Fred discarded the empty magazine and holstered the gun. Running full speed at one of the soldiers he slid on the floor, kicking the man as he passed under. On the other side Daphne spin kicked the nearest attacker right into the wall.

"There is a plan yes?" Daphne yelled as she spun her opponent into a stone column.

"Oh yes!" Fred responded enthusiastically. "Always!"

"Get back to the truck!" Von Butch ordered.

"And here he go" Fred said as he replaced the magazine fired one well placed dart at the burglar alarm.

The door automatically locked, trapping everyone inside.

"Ha, Ha!" Fred cheered.

"Freddy, now we're trapped in here with them."

Fred's face slumped.

"Didn't think that far ahead."

"Bah, you think this stops me" Ankha said proudly. He walked up to the door, holding his hands out, and it just opened.

The mummies, Von Butch's men, and their prisoners ran out to the van.

"Oh no you don't" Fred growled as he and Daphne jumped from the balcony to give chase.

Velma smirked at the mummy.

"Oh, you're in trouble now"

"You think so?" The mummy said. "They are just children."

"They are two of the most scarily determined people I have ever met." She said severely.

"And what about you?" He said moving his hand closer to her.

Velma lunged at his arm and bit down. Startled he pulled it away.

"When the time comes, I shall truly enjoy turning you to stone."

A loud engine roar crept up on the van.

"Daphne, do you have a plan?" Fred yelled over the engine noise.

"Nope" She responded steering the security motorcycle closer to the van.

"Okay then!" Fred yelled as he jumped grabbing the door of the van.

He drew the tranquilizer gun and fired into the window. The soldier in the passenger seat slumped down.

"Heh, compared to Bigfoot and those pirates, this is a piece of cake, I mean, c'mon, if you're gonna tomb rob, add some flare."

A skeletal hand reached over the unconscious body and grabbed Fred by the shirt. Fred reached in, unlocking the door and opening it. The body belonging to the hand was pulled forward and for the first time Fred got a good look at the robed men who were holding his friends captive.

"Mummy!" Fred yelled as the thing swung a sword at him.

"Typical" Daphne smirked. "A little danger and you start calling for mommy."

"Not Mommy!" Fred screamed as he scrambled to the top of the van. "Mummy!"

Daphne swerved the motorcycle as she saw the skeletal soldier follow Fred onto the roof of the van. Fred ducked as the creature swung at him. The creature raised its sword into the air and sliced down, chopping. Fred rolled and almost fell off the van.

Meanwhile, Daphne maneuvered the motorcycle to the back doors of the van. She grabbed at the handle and tried to yank it open. It was locked, worse; the unyielding door yanked her off the motorcycle. Hanging on to the lock, she pulled the knife from the man who had attacked her out of her vest and jammed it into the keyhole. She twisted it around, scanning the lock until she heard the click and the door swung open. She swung inside as her motorcycle careened off the road.

"Hey guys, how's it going?" She said. "Sorry, I thought this was the bathroom."

Melbourne stood up and punched one of the guards. Omar wrestled a sword away from one of the mummies.

"Go, get out!" Melbourne yelled.

"You will not defy me tomb robber" Ankha said standing. He took Melbourne by the face.

Slowly a grey discoloration began spreading across his skin. A peculiar smell filled the small space, sweet and caustic as his body went rigid.

"Oh my god" Daphne yelped. In all her time solving mysteries few things had truly shaken Daphne Blake, but that shook her to her core

The mummy took Omar by the wrist and tossed him out of the van.

There was a thump from the back of the van. Fred didn't look, he focused on the fight. It was his element, not fighting necessarily, but strategy under pressure. He loved letting his over active brain put all of its power into creating a strategy so complex and off the wall that his opponent never saw it coming. However sometimes he was put off his guard by something that seemed utterly impossible. This was one of those times. If he had been fighting something other than a mummy, if he were not staring down a living, breathing, and rather foul smelling corpse, he might have been able to better dodge the sharp blade that was thrust down on him. Instead it tore through his shirt, slightly, but no less painfully, cutting into his skin, and stabbing clean through the metal roof of the van.

_SHING_

The blade passed right in front of Daphne's face. It was in that moment that Velma made her decision to act. She stood up, elbowing the nearest human guard in the ribs and went for Daphne.

"Daphne get out!" Velma yelled

"Not without you guys"

Velma pushed Daphne out of the van just as the other guards moved to shut the door.

Fred heard a scream from behind him as he wrestled with the monster on top of the van. He turned his head away from the fight for just a second and the creature used it to take him by the throat. Fred felt the bony, dry fingers close around him. He kicked his legs wildly and pushed the monster away. Then he drew the dart gun and aimed it.

"I hope this works on mummies" He said as he squeezed the trigger.

The mummy went limp and fell as the dart hit. Fred stared astonished at the gun. The van swerved and Fred was thrown off.

"So much for the big rescue" he grumbled as he hobbled over to Omar and Daphne.

"Where are they going?" Daphne asked.

"Giza" Omar answered. "They're going to Giza."

**Part 15: Amahl Ali Akbar**

Shaggy woke as water dripped into his mouth. He blinked at the sun as his eyes opened. Carefully he sat up and rubbed his neck.

"Raggy" Scooby barked groggily.

"Yeah, like I'm here buddy."

"Rere are ree?"

"I don't know, it appears to be some kind of tent."

"Good morning" An Egyptian accented voice said.

Shaggy and Scooby both turned as a man entered the tent. He had sun worn skin, and a black beard streaked with grey.

"Morning" Shaggy said uncertainly.

"I am Amahl Ali Akbar; this is my people's camp. We found the two of you collapsed by the well outside. How did you come this far into the desert?"

"We were, like, working at an archeological dig…" Shaggy said straining to remember. "We were attacked. My friend and I escaped into the desert."

"Who is it that attacked you?"

"I, like, I don't know."

"What were you digging up?" Akbar asked seriously.

"It was a tomb, hey man, listen, I was just a volunteer. It was the tomb of… Ankha."

A look of shock struck Akbar's face.

"Prince Ankha of Shakenkamen.?"

"I don't know man, I think so."

"Was the tomb opened?"

"Yeah" Shaggy answered nervously.

"We must ride to the Great Sphinx"

"Why" Shaggy asked flustered.

"If the tomb has been disturbed then the Ankh has been taken, they must go to the Sphinx to be shown the way." Akbar said storming from the tent.

"I'm not following you sir" Shaggy said as he and Scooby followed out of the tent.

"The legend of Ankha says that if he is woken, he will travel to the Sphinx in order to be shown the way to the city of Shakenkamen, once there he will have the power to take the land of Egypt."

"I'm sorry, like, what?" Shaggy blurted out.

"We musty hurry; there is no time to waste."

"No, no, no… wait" Shaggy panted as he and Scooby tried to keep up. "Mummies don't come back to life… do they?"

"We shall see" He said handing Shaggy a scimitar.

"Like, why are you giving me a sword?" Shaggy whimpered.

"If you are right, it will be to battle those who attacked your camp. If I am right it will be to battle Ankha and his army of the undead. Now quickly, mount a horse, we must make it to the Sphinx as swiftly as possible."

"Mummies, pirates, ghosts, robots, the Loch Ness Monster, like, where does it end, Dracula?" Shaggy moaned as he and Scooby mounted the nearest horse.

"You are a strange person my friend." Akbar commented.

"Listen man, we're not fighters."

"And yet you mount the horse. You say you are not fighters, but your words while you slept betray the both of you. You above all will do what is right."

Shaggy and Scooby glanced at each other with a look that said 'I wish he were wrong'.

"Lead the way man."

**Part 16: The Secret of the Sphinx**

The van stopped at a warehouse where Von Butch's men resupplied. Ankha and his men sat in silence the whole time. It was hours before there were few enough security staff at the Sphinx that Von Butch and her men could take them out.

"Why are you keeping us?" Velma asked seriously

"When we reach my city I will need the aid of the living to regain my full power."

"We will stop you" She glowered.

"You are brave, but you are wrong."

"We'll see"

"Do not speak to our lord Ankha like that" Von Butch sneered pushing Velma out of the way.

"Sie werden bedauern dies" Velma spat.

"Zweifelhaft" Von Butch shot back. Velma made a mental note that the witch could speak German.

"Kinda cool isn't it?" Jimmy whispered as Velma rejoined him at the back of the group.

"What is?' She asked perplexed.

"The Sphinx" He said nodding his head up towards the massive edifice. "I kind of hoped that my first visit would be under better circumstances but, I'll take what I can get."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"The engineering, the artistry… magnificent."

The group walked right between the Sphinx's legs and stopped at the front wall. Ankha drew the ankh from his belt and carefully wiped the sand from the Sphinx.

"For thousands of years your people have wondered about the riddle of the Sphinx, and no one has ever found its true purpose. Today you shall know."

Ankha pushed the ankh into the stone where it receded into the wall and clicked. The Sphinx shook and sand rained down as the wall parted revealing a doorway into the darkness.

"Amazing" Velma gasped. "After thousands of years, for a device like this to still work…"

"It is a means to an end" Von Butch said. "Shakenkamen is the real prize."

The soldiers lit flashlights and walked inside. Two of them set up a large floodlight on a tripod. Once illuminated, the room was revealed to be only a balcony overlooking a much larger room. On the floor of the room was a stone slab with groupings of lines and hieroglyphs.

"Oh my god" Velma gasped quietly. "It's a map."

"The Sphinx was built as a map of the kingdom. Over five hundred ankhs were made, each one reveals a different location. This one, will reveal the location of Shakenkamen."

Ankha took the ankh and placed it in a mold at the edge of the balcony. One section of the map raised into the air. Two soldiers brought a map and a pen and Ankha marked the spot.

"Shakenkamen is here" he said tapping his dusty finger to the paper.

Von Butch's assistant Natasha marked it on a small GPS device.

"Thanks for the tip, now freeze" An Egyptian accent called from the doorway.

"Prince" Von Butch smirked as she whirled around, gun in hand. Omar had the sword he had taken from Ankha's guard pointed at her.

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that If I were you lady" Fred called out as he stepped out of the shadows with his dart gun leveled.

"You call this a rescue" Von Butch laughed.

"No, I call this a distraction" He said as a hissing noise filled the room.

Gas erupted from one of the soldiers belts. He looked down to see a red haired girl with a green bandana over her face stabbing into one of his gas grenades. Fred and Omar pulled bandanas over their mouths and moved into the room.

"Amateurs" Campbell smirked as he pulled a pair of goggles over his eyes. They lit up and he scanned the room. The other soldiers did likewise.

Daphne stayed low to the ground where the smoke was thin and found Velma and Jimmy. She grabbed their hands as she did she felt cold metal press against her back. She turned to see a soldier holding a rifle to her.

"Oh that's rude" She mumbled.

The soldier was about to pull the trigger when a sword sliced through the gun. She looked up to see a bearded man in a robe striking the attacker with the butt of his sword. Around the room more robed men were knocking the soldiers to the ground. It seemed that the tide had turned until Ankha's guards joined the fight. Steel clanged against steel as the impossibly strong ancient blades met the expertly handled new ones. For every imposing slice the skeletal guards delivered the men in the dark robes gracefully dodged and returned with equal strength.

Taking advantage of the chaos Velma moved away from her captors. Her hands were still cuffed in front of her and the smoke was very thick, but a lifetime of horrible vision had taught her to navigate a room on more than sight alone. Realizing time wasn't on her side she quickly formulated a plan. From memory she made her way to the place where the map had been kept. Tracking the clangs of metal she avoided the swordfights. Using her hands she felt around until her fingers came into contact with paper. Holding it close to her face, Velma stared at the tiny red dot that marked the city of Shakenkamen. Before she could move any further something struck her in the jaw. She looked up to see Von Butch standing over her.

"Hand over the map you little…"

Velma tackled her to the ground, but the older woman got right back up. She struck Velma with her boot. Seeing a familiar flash of orange hair; Velma rolled out of Von Butch's way, leapt up and thrust the map toward Daphne. It was the last thing she could do before Von Butch struck her down again.

Ankha moved toward Fred and grabbed him by the throat. A grey discoloration appeared on the bandana, but Fred kept kicking. Another man in a black robe with his face obscured grabbed Fred out of Ankha's grasp. The clatter of steel filled the air as everyone cleared the room. Sand was kicked up as a black helicopter descended and collected Ankha's followers and prisoners.

"Another great rescue" Fred said wiping the sand out of his eyes.

"We must follow them; if they reach Shakenkamen then all may be lost." The bearded man said.

"Just who are you?" Daphne said pointing her knife at the man.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa; he's cool" Said the one who had rescued Fred as he pulled the mask from his face.

"Shaggy!" Fred and Daphne exclaimed in unison.

"Ron't rorget ree" Scooby said stepping out from behind Shaggy.

"Where have you guys been?"

"The desert. Like, these guys saved us. This is Amahl Ali Akbar, he saved our lives and yours.'

"Right" Daphne said lowering her knife. "Bit on edge lately. Thank you."

Amahl gave her a sort of accepting salute .

"What's the plan? We lost them; we have no idea where they're going." Fred panted holstering his gun.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that" Daphne smiled as she pulled a map out of her vest pocket. "A certain nearsighted friend of ours handed this to me."

"Good old Velma" Fred cheered.

**Part 17: The Oasis**

It was unnerving, being in Ankha's presence. Since he woke up at the tomb, he had kept the golden funeral mask on. A part of her hoped he wouldn't take it off, but a part of her was curious. Past experience suggested that he was a normal man in a mask, but present experience suggested that he was indeed a resurrected mummy. Anyone else might be scared beyond rational thought, but Velma Dinkley was all rational. She prided herself on not accepting anything until all it was proven by hard fact. That was why she was able to appear calm in Ankha's presence. She would reserve freaking out over a dead man coming to life only once it was proven. The real problem at hand was the fact that she and Jimmy were being held captive.

Strangely, or perhaps wisely, Von Butch kept them with herself and her assistants the whole time. That meant that they were riding in the same staff car with Von butch and Ankha as her men drove a convoy of trucks through the desert toward the lost city. It was comfortable enough, aside from the handcuffs.

"What happens to the people you petrify?" Velma asked with all the bravery she could muster.

"They are alive until the moment I shatter their statues. I can reawaken them if I wish."

"What did you do with Melbourne's statue?"

"It is being kept by my men… and mine alone" he added with a glance at Von Butch.

"I wish you would trust us more my lord, we are here to serve you." Von Butch said with all her charm.

"When I absorbed your language from the soldier, I absorbed his knowledge of you. You desecrate tombs for profit. You planned to rob my tomb. If I did not need your assistance you would have been one with the sands long ago."

"Of course my lord" Von Butch said with barely masked contempt. It was plain that this was a woman not used to taking orders.

"When my armies have risen, I will retake this land."

"Why do you need our help if you can control the land of Egypt?" Velma asked.

"You should not ask so many questions" Von Butch sneered pulling out a gun.

"I have faced down much worse than you" Velma said trying to sound brave.

"We'll see about that."

"We're going to stop here" The driver announced. "There's an oasis and we need to restock on water.

"Very well" Ankha said cutting off Von Butch's reply.

"Oh good, I was getting thirsty" Jimmy said.

"What makes you think you're getting water?" Von Butch sneered.

"What is the harm, there is only desert for them to escape into." Ankha said exiting the vehicle.

Velma and Jimmy were let out and led to the Oasis, a dark blue pool with three tall palm trees surrounding it. Jimmy immediately began lapping up water. Velma kneeled down and wet her face.

"That woman is a piece of work" Jimmy said between mouthfuls of water.

"She's a pieced of something alright" Velma said. I just don't get it. Egyptian history remembers Ankha as a just and kind ruler. Why is he being such a…"

"Tyrant" Jimmy offered.

"Not quite the word I was going for, but yeah."

"He was murdered by his uncle and then woken up from death. That would tick off anyone."

"What about that control the land of Egypt thing; I haven't seen any of that."

"Dude turned three guys to stone, that isn't doing it for you?"

"Something just isn't right."

"I'll tell you what isn't right, that mask."

"What do you mean?"

"Something about it just seems wrong, but I can't quite place it, let's just say the shine is off."

"The shine is off?" Velma laughed.

"Hey, trust the artist. The shine is just off okay."

"Everyone back to the trucks" One of the soldiers yelled.

"Wanna try and make a break for it?" Jimmy asked.

"There's nowhere to run" Velma shrugged as she walked back to the truck.

**Part 18: The Voyage to Shakenkamen**

"I don't understand why we can't call the police or the army" Daphne said as their small caravan of Bedouins and meddling kids rode through the desert.

"You wish to tell the police to chase a mummy and a grave robber with military grade equipment all the way to a lost city, be my guest. This is our best bet. Amahl and his men will be our backup." Omar said.

"And what's our plan?"Fred asked.

"We go in, rescue your friends and defeat Ankha before he can resurrect his full army." Akbar said succinctly.

"Right and let me guess, like, he can only be killed by a magic dagger, or spear, or the book of Anubis" Shaggy said.

"No, a sword will do just fine" Akbar answered.

"One day Scoob, we're taking a normal vacation."

"Ra right"

"How can we beat them on horses and camels?" Fred asked. "They probably have trucks and motorcycles."

"The desert is the great equalizer my friend, they may be more comfortable, but their vehicles can fail them. Camels and Horses will serve us as long as they are treated well." Akbar said.

"Like slow and steady wins the race"

"Exactly"

"How will we know the city when we get there?" Daphne asked.

"You'll know" Omar said. "They say that the towers were tipped with gold so you could see the sunlight glinting as you approached. Inside Ankha's palace was a treasure room filled to the ceiling with the fortune of the pharaoh."

"I can see Von Butch's eagerness." Fred said.

"Rot rappened roo ree rothers?" Scooby asked.

"The mummy turned them to stone, Doctor Najib, Professor Muller, and now Doctor O' Reilly."

"Like, what?" Shaggy gulped. "So it's definitely a real mummy."

"I don't know" Fred said rubbing his bandana between his fingers. When he tried to do it to me, my bandana got grey and stiff, but I didn't feel a thing."

"Maybe it's gotta spread to the skin" Shaggy offered.

"Maybe" Fred said sniffing the fabric. "This smells familiar."

"We hardly knew them" Daphne said solemnly.

"Doctor Baltus Najib and Professor Winslow Muller were the two top authorities on Ankha and Shakenkamen. Najib was working on leads to finding the city; he was a good friend of my family. Muller wrote a highly regarded book on Ankha's murder. He hoped to find the journals of Hotep to conclusively prove what happened that day and why, and he bred flowers in his spare time. Melbourne O' Reilly spent his life protecting historical sites from the likes of Amelia Von Butch. Now you may know them better." Omar said.

"They may yet be saved." Akbar said. "It is possible that the curse can be reversed."

"Do you find their total belief in these monsters kind of weird?" Fred whispered to the others.

"You didn't see what he did to O' Reilly" Daphne said with a shiver. "It was… unnatural."

"Yeah well, what I did see was one of those mummy things get taken down by one of the darts, and something with no organs shouldn't be susceptible to that."

"Like, all I know is that these guys…" Shaggy said pointing to Akbar's men. "…believe wholeheartedly that if we don't stop them, then the world is doomed. That is a fear that you cannot just fake."

"So are they right or crazy?" Fred asked.

"Like are we crazy for following them anyway" Shaggy countered. It always startled Fred how insightful he could be when he wanted to

They made camp that night under the full moon. Akbar's men set up a fire and cooked food. There was only one extra tent which the gang was sharing with Omar. Shaggy and Scooby sat by the fire warming themselves. The sword Akbar had given him was propped up against the tent. Shaggy rubbed his hands together and breathed into them.

"Raggy, rhut's rong?"

"Nothing Scoob, it's just, I'm worried about Velma and Jimmy, that's all."

"Rey'll ree rall right."

"Like, Scoob, do you remember what I did back at Christmas?"

"Roo rean ra right"

"Yeah, like the fight, and then back in May, and last month. It's like every so often, I just lose it."

"Roo are protective."

"I justaaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh" Shaggy collapsed on the floor clutching his head in pain. Scooby leaped up and nudged him.

Shaggy's vision glazed over. He felt a stinging in his face and hands. The desert slipped from view replaced by a forest with a towering castle in the background. There was someone behind him, crying. He wanted to turn and comfort this person, but he knew there was another job to do. Something rushed at him out of the forest; he swiped at it with clawed hands. Then the scene dissolved and he saw the desert again.

"Raggy, rare roo rokay?"

"Like, I dunno." Shaggy panted staring at his hands, making sure the claws were gone.

**Part 19: The Glory of Shakenkamen**

Everyone in the expedition was disheveled and weather worn, five trucks had failed and most of the men had been forced to walk; but every ounce of fatigue disappeared when they saw a glint in the sunlight. It was blinding at first, and then when their vision cleared they saw the source of the glint. A towering obelisk capped in gold rose majestically from the desert. Around it were ruins of stone temples and the skeletal remains of a market. Ankha led the group into the city, striding royally followed by his royal guards and Von Butch's men. Finally Jimmy and Velma were pushed in mouths open in awe.

They stopped at the very center of the city where there stood a huge palace topped with gold and surrounded by a fountain that somehow still worked after thousands of years. Ankha walked regally up the stairs and through the columns.

"Home" He sighed with satisfaction.

Von Butch looked at everything hungrily. Her men lowered their guns in awe and exhaustion. The interior of the palace was even grander. Ankha surveyed his each room as he led the group deeper inside. Everywhere there were hieroglyphs and statues of a very royal looking man.

"Are these statues of you?" Velma asked in a voice like someone speaking to their king.

"Yes" He answered proudly.

"Those don't look anything like his mask" Velma whispered to Jimmy.

Ankha stopped the group at a massive stone doorway. It was too dark to see the room beyond but the hieroglyph on the doorframe didn't look promising.

"You two" he said pointing to Velma and Jimmy. "Take the journey to the royal vault. When you arrive, place the ankh into the altar to make our passage to the room safe. This is your sacrifice to raise my army."

"What?"

"You two were brought to make the sacrifice and raise my army, two must navigate the perils that guard the royal vault."

"What if we say no?" Velma said bravely.

"Then we will shoot you and send two more in your place" Von butch said drawing her pistol.

"Then shoot us" Velma said.

"Yeah then… wait what?" Jimmy gulped.

"Fine" She cocked the gun.

"No!" Ankha yelled angrily. "There will be rewards for you if you help us.

"We don't want rewards."

Jimmy's eyes shifted nervously between Velma and Ankha.

"Then what?"

"When this is all over, you let us go, safe, back in Cairo."

"My lord I must protest"

"No, your wish will be granted on my honor as prince of Egypt, now go."

Von Butch's assistant handed Velma a flashlight and some rope.

"What's the rope for?"

"How should I know" He sneered.

"Keep this safe" Ankha said handing Velma the ankh.

Velma and Jimmy took one fearful look back and walked into the tomb.

"What do those hieroglyphs mean?"

"They're the same ones from Ankha's tomb" Velma said absently as she scanned the floor. "They depict someone's journey into the underworld."

"Cheery, but I thought that this was…"

"The royal vault, I know, it doesn't make sense."

The sand made sifting noises beneath their feat. Dust was kicked up with every step as they walked halls that no living person had walked in thousands of years. Velma was sorely tempted to reach out and touch the walls but she knew that could damage them.

"Do you smell that?" Jimmy asked sniffing at the air.

"Yeah, almost like… wet fur"

_Crunch_

Velma looked down. She had stepped on a small rodent skeleton. Apprehensively, she moved the beam of light around the floor. There were hundreds more like it all scattered around the room.

"Jimmy, what do you think it means when there's a room full of rat skeletons?"

"Snakes" Jimmy said definitively. "It means snakes."

"Just making sure."

"Egyptian asps, very venomous"

They both whispered despite there being no one else with them. Velma shined the flashlight straight ahead and they saw a pool, about three feet across. Writhing inside was a plethora of writhing, slithering snakes swimming a dark shallow pool of water.

"Do you have a problem with snakes?" Velma squeaked.

"Please, I grew up in the desert; I know how to handle a snake… that said; I don't really like it."

"Well then, after you" Velma stuttered with a wave of her hand.

Jimmy cautiously stepped over the snake pool, a couple hissed but none of them moved. Velma followed. They continued down the path, this time more careful to watch the floor.

"So, archeologically speaking, what're the odds of there being temple traps like in the movies?" Jimmy asked.

"Slim to none" Velma said taking another careful step forward.

_ Click_

The floor panel Velma was standing on receded into the floor.

"Uh oh" Jimmy said. "Click is never good."

There was a sound like a rolling marble and then…

_Tink, tink, tink._

Velma and Jimmy followed the sound with their heads to the left.

_Shunk, Shunk, Shunk_

To the right.

_CCCCHHHHHH_

To the left.

_Boom, Boom, Boom_

Up.

_Crackle, Crackle, Crackle_

Down.

Velma shined the light toward the floor where cracks were spreading in the stone. She grabbed Jimmy's hand.

"Run!"

The two friends ran for their lives as the floor fell away behind them. Large chunks of rock fell from the floor to some unknown space below. Dust that had spent thousands of years settling into the cracks in the walls and ceiling was shaken loose. It stung their eyes as they tried to run in the pitch blackness, their path only illuminated by the jumping beam of the flashlight.

"This makes no sense architecturally or historically!" Velma yelled with more anger than fear in her voice.

"You wanna tell that to the floors!" Jimmy shrieked. "And actually consider the idea that if this is the royal vault, then maybe the royal family knows the way into the vault without stepping on the tile of doom."

"That's actually a credibaaaaaa Whoa!" Velma screamed as the light illuminated the path in front of her, or rather lack of one. The trail stopped dead at a large pit. Above them were the remains of a crumbled staircase, below them was nothingness.

Velma looked up at the stairs and then down at the rope she was holding. Catching on to her train of thought Jimmy spoke up.

"Great idea but we don't have a counterweight. The rope would just fall back down again"

Without missing a beat, Velma tied the flashlight to the end of the rope. Swinging it around a few times she tossed it into the air where the weight of the flashlight propelled it around the broken stone. She pulled hard and the rope held. Now pointed down, the flashlight showed the full depth of the chasm below; and the glint of water at the bottom.

"Brace yourself!" Velma yelled as she wrapped her hands into the rope.

Just as Jimmy secured himself in the floor gave way beneath them. There was a sharp jerk and the two fell down several feet. Water splashed them as large slabs of stone fell into the lake below. The whole edifice rumbled for another minute and a half before settling down. The whole chamber went silent. Velma and Jimmy hovered in the middle of the rope about forty feet above the surface of the water.

"Duh duh duh duh, du duh duh" Jimmy sang in a brief imitation of the Indiana Jones movie theme.

"We just destroyed one of the greatest archeological finds… ever." Velma stuttered out. "An archeologist who discovers something like this… could announce their intention to study the life of peasants under Count Dracula in Transylvania… and they could get funding."

"No offense… but I don't wanna help with that research."

"Okay… gotta climb up" Velma panted.

"Right… uhhh oohhhh" Jimmy moaned. "I don't think I can do… up" He said looking down at the water, his face paralyzed in terror.

"Oh, right, acrophobia"

"Fear of heights" Jimmy affirmed.

"Okay…" Velma said trying to think her way out. "Hang tight down here, can you do that. I'll climb up… and pull you up okay."

"Meep"

"I'll take that as a yes." Velma said beginning her ascension. "It's okay, everyone has fears. You know I have coulrophobia, fear of clowns." Velma grunted as she forced her body over the edge of the stairs. Her feet slid slightly and for a moment she thought she might fall. Finally she made, laying flat and breathing heavily with exhaustion.

"Meep"

"Oh, Right" She panted forcing herself up. She wrapped her hands into the rope and pulled… it didn't budge. She tried again, putting every ounce of strength into it… still nothing. She stumbled backwards, leaning on a large rock that teetered over the edge of the walkway. Suddenly, she was struck with an idea. She carefully unwrapped the rope from its resting place. Removing the flashlight and holding it in her mouth she set to work. Using all of her strength Velma pulled the rope over the rock and tied it on. Then she put her back up against it and pushed. With a scraping sound, the rock fell down into the chasm and the rope sped up.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" Jimmy yelled as he was pulled up. Velma grabbed him as he came over the edge and he instinctually released the rope which tumbled into the chasm below.

"Better now" She asked.

"I'm not really high up, I'm not really high up, I'm not really high up… Okay, I'm good." He said scrambling to his feet.

"On we go" Velma said lighting the path forward. "I really hope we don't need that rope again."

The stairwell continued up until coming to a door in the wall. Being even more careful to scan the floor, they walked in… and slammed right into a wall.

"Ow! I did not see that!"

"We need another flashlight."

Velma illuminated the wall. There were more markings.

"This is writing"

"Uh huh, what does it say?"

"I don't know" She shrugged.

"What do you mean you don't know? Your Velma Dinkley, you know everything."

"Not how to read ancient Egyptian"

They both scanned the wall intently. There was a series of symbols separated into squares.

"There's a pattern here" Jimmy said. "And the indents around the symbols are… buttons"

"What do you mean, I don't see it"

"Artist" Jimmy said pointing to himself. He began feeling the carvings and sliding his hand across the stone.

"Jimmy, you can't just rub your hands on the ancient walls."

"We both just slammed our faces into it, I don't think it's much of an issue."

"I still don't see this pattern."

"Look at this grouping" He said pointing to a part of the wall. "These symbols are the same. These over here…" He pointed to another part. "…are all different, and these symbols here, they're two of the same, with one different."

"So, you're looking for what… the right order?"

"Nope, I'm looking for this" he said pressing his hand into a stone that clicked into the wall. "The one symbol that is completely alone."

"That's Ankha's seal, I should've seen that." Velma said as a portion of the wall sunk into the floor. "Ancient Egyptian architecture was much more advanced than we thought."

"You know what Dell would say?"

"Aliens"

"Yep"

"Ridiculous" Velma said doubtfully.

"Completely" Jimmy said with a hint of doubt in his voice.

Velma shined the light into the chamber. It was large; at least twice as big as the school cafeteria. At the far side of the room in the center was a large statue of a man with a jackal head.

"Anubis" Velma whispered.

Beneath the statue were hundreds of stone slabs set in rows and columns. They covered the floor of the room forming an elaborate grid. Lying on the slabs were mummies, each dressed and armed for battle. In the very center of the room, breaking the grid was a golden sarcophagus. Velma and Jimmy walked into the room with the reverent manner that one enters a church. Both of them averted their eyes from the mummified soldiers but kept focused on the sarcophagus. It was almost identical to the one back in Ankha's tomb except…

"The face" Jimmy said. "That's the face that was on the statues, the ones Ankha said were of him."

"I was all wrong" Velma said with shock in her face. "We were all wrong. Jimmy you're an artist, do you remember seeing Ankha's symbol at the tomb at all?"

"No"

"That wasn't Ankha, it was Hotep. It all makes sense 'The Lost Son' wasn't Ankha; it was Hotep, because he was disowned. Think about it, this is the Ankha's army, this is Ankha's tomb."

"Then this…" Jimmy said pointing to the sarcophagus. "…is Ankha, but then who…" He pointed back to the door. "…have we been with for past three days?"

"I don't know" Velma said pulling the Ankh from around her neck. "But I don't think we should give this to him."

**Part 20: Third Time's the Charm**

Fred and Daphne took cover behind the columns of the Palace. Fifteen minutes ago they had watched Velma and Jimmy enter one of the inner chambers. In the in interim there had been a small tremor in the building. It was crucial to wait until Velma and Jimmy were safely out of harm's way before beginning their assault. Fred pushed a new round into his dart gun and Daphne drew the kukri knife that she had taken from her attacker in Al- Famir. On the other side of the room Akbar and his men were ready to make the main attack. Shaggy, Scooby and Omar would make their way into the chamber Velma and Jimmy had entered and try to get them out safely. Von Butch and her men were becoming increasingly agitated by their long wait. That meant that they were getting sloppy.

Fred gave the signal as soon as the first soldier decided to put down his gun. He fired one dart into the man and he went down. Normally, that would have been a really uncomfortable thing to do, but not here, not with his friends on the line. Akbar and his men moved in going for the guns first, getting those out of the equation. Of equal importance were Ankha and his guards. Daphne and Fred went for them. The Blake's were fighters by nature. It surprised many people that the pretty, fashionable high school student was so dangerous. She went into the fight and did not so much pick an opponent as much as took on all of them. Every move was about disarming the enemy, little things that gave the advantage to the good guys. Fred on the other hand had never had formal fight training. He had learned by practicing on his punching bag at home and getting into scraps with bullies at school. Before this he had never even used a gun. He made sure that every dart had a clear target. Von Butch and Ankha had numbers, but each dart could take out a person, and he had a lot of darts.

Shaggy and Scooby barely looked the same as they had when they had arrived in the desert. Shaggy's hair had grown out and his face had three days worth of stubble. He was still wearing his old shirt and pants, and his family's ring around his neck, which he had come to consider a good luck charm, but he also had a sword strapped to his side and a bandana covering his mouth. Fred and Daphne figured that whatever Ankha had tried to do to Fred had been blocked by the bandana. Scooby wore one as well, as well as three days of sand caked fur. The two of them along with Omar crept along the wall, out of sight of the fighters. Shaggy didn't know what had come over him in other circumstances, but he knew that he was most definitely not up for a fight right now. He was most useful as a track runner and a gymnast, someone who could get in and out of rough spots fast.

"You ready for this Scoob, for Velms and Jimmy"

"Ror Relma and Rimmy"

"You ready for this Omar?"

"I am not entirely sure, but I find it exciting never the less."

Shaggy led the way with a flashlight clipped to his belt keeping his hands free. In front of them was a large fissure in the ground that had probably been opened up by the tremor, it must have been six feet across and Shaggy vaulted over it like a pro. Had he looked down he would have seen that the fissure was filled with snakes. Omar and Scooby certainly saw it as they skirted to a stop before making hesitant and clumsy leaps. Shaggy stopped them at large pit. It seemed as though there had once been a floor, large chunks of it were sitting at the bottom.

"Like how are we getting across that?" Shaggy said staring down at the water.

"With these" Omar said grabbing onto a crack in the wall that formed a handhold. "They run along the wall."

"Like you want us to climb those?" Shaggy gulped.

"It is for your friends yes?" Omar smirked.

"Okay, Scoob, you gotta hang on to me, okay buddy?"

"Rokay" Scooby said hesitantly.

The two boys grabbed onto the first crack in the wall, slowly making their way along the wall until it ended. Above them was another crack that ran farther in. Omar, lighter without Scooby jumped first. Then he held out his hand to Shaggy who took it and pulled himself up. After switching cracks three more times, they saw a staircase above them.

"Okay, like, how are we gonna get up there?"

"I am not sure, but I think I have an idea." Omar said drawing his sword. With effort he reached up and stuck it into the wall.

"That is some week stone" Shaggy mused.

"Or some strong metal"

Omar pulled himself up onto the sword's hilt. Shaggy shimmied over to where Omar had been hanging.

"Hand me your sword. If I can get it into the wall high enough we can climb up onto the ledge."

"Like when did my life become, like, a Prince of Persia game" Shaggy grumbled carefully drawing his own sword and handing up to Omar.

Omar stuck the sword into the wall and climbed up. With a grunt, Omar pulled himself up over the jagged stone and onto the stairs. Shaggy and Scooby went next. Shaggy reached up to the first sword. His arm was just long enough to wrap around the sword. With one fearful look down he let go of the crack and shot his other arm up to the sword, wrapping his fingers tightly around the hilt. Scooby's front paws around his neck were growing tighter and the weight was making it hard for Shaggy to maintain his grip. Shaggy propped his feet up onto the wall and, using the sword as leverage, he ran up the wall toward the second sword. As his hand grabbed onto it, the sword jerked down slightly. Dust fell onto Shaggy's face from to penetrated rock.

"Take may hand" Omar said lying on his stomach and reaching down.

"Like Scoob, you first"

"Rot reaving roo" Scooby barked adamantly.

"Like no choice buddy" Shaggy said through gritted teeth. "Omar can't pull us both up."

Scooby scrambled up Shaggy's body, awkwardly stepping on his head as he held his paw out to Omar. Omar grasped it and pulled the large dog up.

"Okay, now you"

Shaggy reached up one hand, keeping the other one on the sword. With a terrible scraping sound, the sword fell from the wall and Shaggy tumbled down.

"Raggy!" Scooby yelped diving after him.

Instinctually Omar grabbed at Scooby's tail. Scooby snapped his jaws at the back of Shaggy's shirt. With a hard tug, Shaggy stopped midair, suspended by the back of his shirt, suspended by a dog, suspended by his tail, suspended by a slipping prince. Just as Omar was about to slide off the ledge, two sets of arms grabbed him and pulled everyone up. Velma and Jimmy panted smiling as Shaggy and Scooby came up onto the ledge. Shaggy gave Velma a tight hug.

"Where have you tow bean?" Velma asked.

"Like, it's a long story; we're here to recue you from the Mummy."

"Who's here?" Jimmy asked.

"Us, Fred, Daphne, and, like, a whole army of Bedouins."

"Well, we have some news of our own" Velma said excitedly. "That isn't really Ankha, it wasn't his tomb we found; it was his brother's."

"Velms, you lost me. We need to find a way out of here while the others are keeping the army busy. Like tell me there's another way out."

**Part 21: One on One**

Fred replaced another round in the dart gun; that was his last one. He and Daphne stood back to back, the better to watch out for each other.

"Whoa there!" Fred yelped ducking them both out of the way of an oncoming bayonet.

"Let me have this one" Daphne said spinning Fred to the other side by his elbow. "Save you darts for the mummies."

Just as Daphne spoke, Fred fired off a dart into one of Ankha's guards.

"Got one" he called back.

"Good for you honey" She said flipping her opponent onto his back. "Not to nitpick, but was this the whole plan?"

"You don't like this plan?"

"No, It's a good plan" She swung her fist at another attacker. "It's just, I'd like this one to be more thought out."

"If you have any ideas…" Fred threw an uppercut. "Now would be a good time."

"I'm just saying…"

_BOOM!_

An explosion rocked the city. Smoke poured from the top of the palace. Thirty feet up, on the roof, Von Butch had blown a whole in the building. Leaving Campbell and Natasha to keep watch, she repelled in. Those two brats were either dead or avoiding her, either way she needed to get into that vault.

"If anyone comes kill them, call in the order to the troops, take out the mummies, Shakenkamen is our prize… and take Ankha alive, the master will want him that way."

"Yes ma'am" Both of her assistants answered.

The call went out and the two sided battle suddenly had three. From the top of the palace one could see the soldiers turning on their former undead allies. It took a moment for the mummified warriors to realize what was happening, but only a moment, and when that moment was up, both sides found themselves facing a death by the dead.

Fred and Daphne pulled themselves onto the roof using the ropes Von Butch and her assistants had left. Fred drew his gun but the much larger Campbell saw him first. For a moment he contemplated his own gun, then with a smile he decided it would be more fun to take him on hand to hand. With a massive fist he took the gun from Fred's hand and threw it to the side. Natasha had the same smile as she ran for Daphne, except she had a knife.

Fred ducked as the giant of a man swung at him. He tried a blow to the man's gut. There was no effect except a numb pain in Fred's fingers. 'Okay' Fred thought. 'Planning time'. He backed away slowly, careful to avoid the edge.

"You don't stand a chance little girl" Natasha taunted as she stabbed forward.

Daphne skillfully spun her knife against the other, knocking it away.

"Do you have any idea what kind of training I have been through, you can't possibly…"

Daphne grabbed the woman's outstretched arm and pulled her forward, throwing her off balance.

"Shut Up!" Daphne yelled kicking the woman down.

The woman launched herself back up and took another swipe with her blade. Daphne backed up and tripped, instinctually she released the knife so as not to land on it. The other woman seemed to be enjoying the fight more than she was. She through her own knife away and grabbed Daphne by the wrists as she stood up. They stood face to face as Natasha tried to maneuver her to the edge of the building.

"What now" She smirked.

Daphne thrust her head forward, connecting hard with the older woman's skull. With her opponent dazed she thrust her knee up, striking the woman's gut. She pulled her bandana off and tied her arms behind her back.

"Pfft, amateur"

Fred kept dodging the man's blows, sidestepping until they had almost circled around each other completely. With a glance behind him, Fred concluded that he was in the right position, now for the painful part. Campbell swung another punch and knocked Fred back a few feet. Fred groped his hands around the floor as he tried to stand up. Campbell grabbed him by the shirt front and lifted him off the ground, reaching for his gun with the other hand.

"Playtime's over" He growled. Just then he noticed a small pricking in his gut. He looked down to see a long white dart sticking out of him. Looking up, he saw the gun in the boy's hand, just before he fell unconscious.

"Nap time" Fred said with a smug grin.

**Part 22: The Royal Garden**

"I don't get it" Omar said. "Why did Hotep have the ankh?"

"There is something about this that doesn't add up" Velma said. "We need to find the records of Hotep's rebellion; I have a feeling that's where we'll find our answers. Everyone spread out, look for another exit."

The group spread across the room, careful not to tread on any bodies. The army of mummies was truly massive, much bigger than the one that had allied with Von Butch. 'Where was I supposed to stick the ankh?' Velma thought to herself as she scanned the walls of the room. There were no slots like the one in the sphinx. Exhausted she slumped down at the feet of Anubis. The whole situation angered her, this was a chance for enlightenment, this city deserved to be studied, not pillaged. Her mind wandered with fatigue and she began musing about the statue. Anubis, the ferryman to the underworld, not a devil figure like some people presumed, but someone who guided the dead. A little guidance would be nice now. She craned her head up to Anubis', staring straight at his jackal snout.

"Any ideas?"

Something caught her eye; the statue had a small crack in the bottom of the snout. Not a crack she realized, but a slot. It wouldn't fit the Ankh though, it was small and rectangular, almost like something that would fit a coin.

"Hey, I forgot I still had this" Shaggy said pulling a small golden object out of his pocket.

"What is that?"

"I found it at the dig sight, just before we opened the tomb, I forgot all about it."

"It looks like it has a carving of Anubis on it" Omar said taking the small coin like object in his hand.

"Anubis" Velma exclaimed as her face lit up.

She took the coin from Omar and slid it into the slot on the statue. The black stone shook as the lower job dropped open revealing a hollow mold of an ankh. Everyone looked at each other excitedly. Taking the ankh from around her neck, Velma pushed it into the statue's mouth. Everyone backed away as the ground in front of the statue collapsed into a narrow staircase.

"So, who wants to descend into the underworld first?"

Shaggy and Scooby backed away to the wall, unfortunately not going unnoticed.

"You two are the fastest and the most agile"

"Not for all the Scooby Snacks in the world"

"Ruh, uh"

"What about for me?" Velma asked in her sweetest voice.

Shaggy and Scooby exchanged a look.

"Retter ran reing rith ra rummies"

"Like alright" Shaggy said trotting carefully down the stairs with Scooby at his heels.

The air was cooler down below. It almost felt… fresher. Torches were secured in brackets on the walls.

"Where's Fred when you need him?"

"Raggy, rocks"

"Like what about rocks?"

"Rub ra rocks" Scooby said nudging some small stones closer to Shaggy's feat.

"Like rub the rocks, does that even work?"

"Ry it"

Shaggy picked up the rocks and struck them together near the torch like he'd seen in movies. After about five tries a spark flew into the torch. A fire burst quickly into being. Shaggy took the torch and lit the other along the hall as he walked. As the room was illuminated Shaggy and Scooby's jaws dropped. The room was ringed with canals of clear water. Shaggy ran his hand into and it was cool to the touch. There were flowers growing all around the room and pools feeding them. In thousands of years they had grown wild. Deep green vines crept along the walls.

"Guys!" He called up. "You're gonna wanna see this!"

The others came down into the chamber.

"The royal garden" Omar gasped. "These must be the flowers of the firestone"

"The poisonous ones?" Velma asked.

"Yes"

Velma crouched down by the flowers and examined them. They were beautiful, with rich orange petals and deep green stems growing off of vines that snaked along the walls and into the pools of water. They smelled so sweet, and… familiar. Carefully, she picked some samples and slipped them into her pockets.

"Like, where's all this water coming from?"

"There's a well, under the temple, we saw it on our way in."

"It must be feeding the garden and the fountains outside."

Scooby sniffed around the room rather uncomfortably. He had been told that the flowers were only poisonous when ingested but all the same it was scary. He nervously scanned the ground hoping he wouldn't run into any snakes. The other thing he noticed, and he was sure that the others did as well, was that there was no visible exit. The problem was that couldn't be right. He could smell desert air, and more water. He followed the scent to the south wall where there was a very thick growth of vines. Scooby pushed his paw against the plants and to his astonishment the vines tore and his paw pushed into another room. Excitedly he dug in further until a doorway was open.

"Rover rere" He barked.

The rest of the group came over and peered into the Scooby's discovery. It was a chamber lined with treasure; statues and jewelry and tablets, precious stones and carvings. In the center was a small stone staircase that led deeper into the tomb. Directly above that was a large opening in the ceiling, like a skylight. Sunlight streamed in and glinted off the gold. At the very back wall a wooden shelf held hundreds of scrolls.

"The records of Shakenkamen" Omar exclaimed as he ran to them. "Births, deaths, rebellion!" He yelled pulling one scroll out. "It is a time of sadness as the Pharaohs' favored son has been killed by his brother. Prince Ankha has been buried in his palace. The queen fears that the pharaoh has gone mad with grief. His methods for ensuring the safety of Ankha's soul have been extreme… The city has been abandoned out of fear of Ankha's revenge… Hotep, Ankha's brother and killer was executed, upon his death he proclaimed that Ankha had made a deal with… I don't know how to translate that" Omar said confusedly. "The closest thing would be… evil" He shrugged. "… to overthrow his father. The queen has taken the keys to Shakenkamen; the ankh to point the way, and the payment of Anubis to Hotep's tomb and had the high priest… the name is scratched out here… give him the blessing to combat Ankha should her ever return." Omar's eyes widened. "He was trying to protect the kingdom." Omar gasped breathing heavy with excitement.

"Well good for him" A familiar British accent sneered from the doorway.

**Part 23: To Catch a Mummy**

The tide of the battle was turning quickly now that Von Butch's mercenaries had decided to fight back. Perhaps it was the fact that they had been surprised at camp that Ankha's warriors had been able to beat them back so hard. Now they were beating them back hard. Fred and Daphne scurried over to one of the recently fallen mummies. It had a long white dart sticking out of its neck.

"Why aren't they killing?" Fred mused.

"Maybe they don't want to, or maybe they still just want live specimens of resurrected mummies."

"Speaking of mummies" Fred sputtered as he saw Ankha walking into one of the buildings.

"We need a plan" Daphne reminded grabbing Fred's arm before he could run off into the temple.

"Okay" Fred said pausing for a moment. He shut his eyes in concentration, then shot them open. "Take this" He said hand Daphne the gun. "I'm gonna go in there and distract him, when I do, shoot him with that, can you do that"

Daphne nodded her head.

"Good" He said kissing her and running towards the building.

Slowly he crept inside. The mummy was looking through a rack of scrolls. Fred pulled his bandana over his mouth and tightened it.

"Hey gauze face!" He yelled immediately chastising himself for using such a stupid insult.

The mummy turned its head slowly and Fred's insides dropped. No wonder Shaggy and Scooby hated this so much. He took a deep breath and yelled at the mummy again.

"C'mon, fight me like a man, or whatever's left of one!"

"You think you can insult me boy?"

"Well, yeah"

The Mummy raised its hand toward him.

"Oh, the stoney finger things, that's Greek mythology you moron."

The mummy advanced silently as Fred began back pedaling toward the exit. As it turned out, the mummy was fast. It ran towards Fred and pinned him to the wall by the throat.

"Prepare to join the others" Ankha growled.

There were three sharp puffing noises as Daphne strode in firing off darts at the mummy with a furious expression on her face.

"Drop him" She snarled.

"As you wish" Ankha said letting Fred slide limply down the wall.

He turned to Daphne with his hand outstretched. Her face froze in terror as her body went stiff. Her skin turned grey. A look of fear was petrified in her eyes. As he stared at her, something washed over Fred. It was a sort of tranquility, the same kind he had experienced almost a year ago in Scotland. He pulled himself up, battered and bloody, and covered in sand. First he would have to daze the target. One blow to the golden mask took care of that. The middle of the mask shattered revealing human flesh and a human nose, broken. Fred registered a small hissing coming from Ankha's arm as the mummy raised it toward him. 'It must be a gas' Fred thought as he wrapped his fingers around Ankha's wrist and pulled his arm straight. Fred brought his elbow down hard and felt the mummy's arm crack.

"Taste of your own medicine your highness?" Fred said through gritted teeth as he shoved the hand into Ankha's face. The gas hissed through the cracks in the mask and the mummy went rigid. Fred released the arm and let the man fall to the ground with a clatter.

Satisfied that his opponent was beaten, Fred's mind cleared. He suddenly remembered Daphne. He ran and knelt at her side. Her face was still frozen in shock.

"C'mon" Fred sobbed. "Please be okay, please be okay." He put his ear close to her and listened for breath, nothing. "C'mon Daph" He choked through tears. "Please be alive, c'mon… I need you ." He rubbed her face and the grey color smudged off.

"Cough, cough" Daphne's eyes fluttered open. "Held my breath when I realized it was gas, God my throat hurts. I must have passed out from the little bit I breathmmmm" She was cut off as Fred kissed her. "Whoa, did I miss something?" She asked when Fred pulled away. "I guess I did" She said noticing Ankha paralyzed on the floor. Fred just smiled at her with his face smudged with dirt, blood, and tears. "Usually, we catch the bad guy last."

**Part 24: Battle of the Firestone**

"I am so sick of dealing with you brats, I don't know why he insisted on keeping you, but it doesn't matter anymore. My men are getting rid of him. Shakenkamen is mine and mine alone. No one is taking that from me, certainly not you." With that she fired her gun.

Shaggy dove in front of Velma and immediately regretted it. His arm was burning with pain and he could feel warm blood dripping down his sleeve. Scooby and Jimmy ran to his aid and lifted him up. Jimmy tore the bandana off of Shaggy's neck and wrapped the wound. All the while he and the other glared at Von Bitch dripping with hate.

"That was rude" Von Butch sneered.

"Get him out of here" Velma ordered kicking her foot against a shiny golden bowl on the floor and shifting her eyes around the room.

"Velma…"

"Get. Him. Out." She repeated sternly.

It was a tone of voice that couldn't be argued with. Jimmy had to think that if Velma ever had kids they would never misbehave. Omar, Jimmy, and Scooby carried Shaggy down lower, not even sure where they were going. They just hoped that there was a way out.

Velma eyed Von Butch with every amount of analytical calm she could muster. Even with the woman pointing a gun at her she had been raised to think her way out of a situation. It was the bowl first; she had made the calculations in her head. Velma kicked the bowl into her hand catching the sunlight and reflecting it at a perfect angle against the other reflective surfaces in the room right into Von Butch's eyes. Von Butch covered her face with both hands, giving Velma the chance to run at her and prey the gun from her hands. She removed the magazine and threw it across the floor. It was a short lived advantage. Von Butch threw a knee into Velma's gut. Cracking her knuckles she walked over to where Velma was lying.

"I am going to enjoy this"

Velma grunted rolling out of the way. She grabbed a heavy looking object and swiped at Von Butch's face. There was a crunch and Von Butch staggered back clutching her bleeding nose. Velma dropped the heavy golden statue.

"Enjoy that?"

"Why you little…" Velma threw a punch.

"Shut it!"

Von Butch caught Velma's next clumsy punch and squeezed her hand tightly.

"Do you feel your bones squeezing together, cracking. I am going to break your hand, and then your neck"

"Shut up!" Velma yelled again thrusting her knee onto Von Butch's stomach. "Nice trick, thanks for showing me."

"Alright, let's try something more… ancient" Von Butch said pulling a jewel encrusted sword off of the wall.

Velma pulled a long ceremonial staff down and held it in front of her.

"Nice choice" Von Butch sneered as she ran at Velma with the blade ready to slice.

Velma ducked and held the staff in front of her. The sword sliced clean through making the staff significantly shorter. Velma swallowed with terror, but she wouldn't give up. She had to give the others time to get away; she had to help save Shaggy. Determinedly she straightened her glasses and lowered the staff to the ground. She swiped at Von Butch's legs and sent her crashing to the ground. The sword clattered out of her hand. She staggered back up, wiping her face. Velma swung the staff again as Von Butch ran towards her. It connected hard with the woman's stomach.

"You've never played Hockey have you?"

'One more step' Velma thought as the other woman ran at her again. She thrust the end of the stick forward and sent Von Butch stumbling backward. In would have been something easily corrected if not for the golden bowl on the floor. She slid back and fell into the other room. Flailing for a hand hold she grabbed one of the torches which tore from the wall landing on the floor.

"Zur Hölle Hexe" Velma spat.

The flames spread quickly across the flowers which burned with an eerie blue color. Velma watched in horror as Von Butch coughed in the smoke and began convulsing. Slowly her body stopped moving and she lay slightly propped up by her arms completely petrified. The only indication that she was still alive was the little cough she kept doing. Realizing that she couldn't leave the woman as much as she wanted to, Velma pulled her shirt over her mouth, held her breath and ran into the garden. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered that the smoke from the flowers acted as some kind of paralyzing agent, the origin of the name firestone most likely. She considered this as she lifted the surprisingly light Von Butch's rigid form out of the room.

**Part 25: The Ferry to Underworld**

When Velma followed the others down into the lower chamber she was stunned. It was a dock at some kind of underground river. Sitting in the middle under the high stone ceiling was a large ancient Egyptian boat.

"What in the world?"

"A boat" Jimmy answered from the deck where he was undoing the ropes securing them to the dock. "Why is she with you?" He said with contempt.

"I couldn't leave her to die" Velma said tossing her harshly into the boat. "It's something in the flowers, when they're burned the smoke causes paralysis."

"Can we still tie her to the mast?"

"Be my guest" Velma said running over to where Scooby was looking after Shaggy.

"How is he?"

"Rot rood."

"Like hey Velms, hey have you been avoiding me?" Shaggy said loopily.

"What is he talking about?"

"Roo row" Scooby said seriously. "Rack in ra rotel, ra robot."

"Oh" Velma said hesitantly. "Shaggy, the robot fooled me, it made me think it was you and that bothered me, I should have seen through that, you're my best friend and I should have realized it wasn't you." Not the whole truth, Velma knew, but certainly part of it.

"Like, we're still friends right?"

"Always" Velma answered with a smile.

The boat lurched as it left the dock. It wasn't just the boat though. The whole cavern was shaking.

"All of the big door opening mechanisms must have rocked the foundations too much, after thousands of years; the buildings aren't as strong as they once were." Velma yelled over the rumbling.

"Oh brilliant" Jimmy groaned grabbing the side of the ship as the water became violent.

"Brace yourselves!" Omar yelled as rocks began to tumble from the ceiling.

**Part 26: Rough Waters**

"We must run" Akbar said when he found Fred and Daphne in the temple which, like the rest of the city was shaking violently.

"What happened?"

"Something has disturbed the foundations of the city. It does not have long."

Fred and Daphne shared a look. Then they ran back to where Ankha lay petrified and lifted him up.

"What are you doing?"

"Not leaving a man to die" Fred grunted lifting the heavy man over his shoulder.

A small smile dashed across Akbar's face. It was easily missed but signified a deep approval in the actions of the two young adults. He helped Fred load the body on a horse. Around the city Von Butch's men had the same idea. They were loading all of the mummy warriors onto their trucks and trying to drive away. It was no use; the sand was collapsing beneath them. Fred and Daphne mounted horses with Akbar and his men and rode out narrowly avoiding the collapsing stonework. Von Butch's men and the still conscious mummies were abandoning their trucks and making a run for it.

"Wait a minute!" Daphne yelled over the noise. "Shaggy and Scooby"

"And Velma and Jimmy" Fred finished steering his horse to the side.

"Where are you going?' Akbar called after them.

"We can't leave them!" Fred and Daphne said in unison as they rode back into the collapsing city.

With sharp orders to his men, Akbar followed them. They ducked and vaulted past the debris. The sand underneath them was falling as though there was nothing beneath it. In front of the temple, a large stone obelisk snapped in two. The top half fell into the sand and was devoured.

"To the sides!" Fred yelled. "Stay away from the sandy swirly thing."

Daphne and Akbar took to his word and skirted the edges of the swirling vortex of rapidly collapsing sand. Their horses' hooves clapped on the stone steps as they rode into the palace.

"Where to now?"

"Into the room where Shaggy and Scooby went!"

They zig zagged past the fallen columns as they rode into the inner palace. There was a sickening crumbling sound. Daring a look back, they saw the ground collapsing beneath them. What had been a horizontal path had gone slantways. It had turned into a ramp which they struggled to keep steady on. With no choice they rode the horses down, struggling to control the animals as they tumbled on the near vertical incline. Further below they could hear water raging. The closer the came to the bottom of the caver the louder it became. Finally they could see a churning underground river. They could also see…

"Is that a boat?"

"Better!" Daphne cried. "That's a Scooby on a boat!"

"On my mark…" Akbar yelled. "Jump! One… Two… THREE!"

Everyone pulled up on the reins and their horses soared into the air. Rock plummeted past them as they fell, tightly holding the reins. Hooves clattered on the wooden deck as three horses and riders touched down on a magnificent ancient boat.

"Oh my God" Velma cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Well the plan was to rescue you guys, it kind of turned around I guess.

A large boulder crashed next to the deck.

"Brace yourselves!"

Everyone found a handhold and rode the wave as the boat was lifted into the air. It crashed back into the water and the deck was drenched. The horses whinnied and the humans screamed. Chunks of earth continued to fall and make waves. The water was almost completely white with foam. Through the crests they could see something large stretched out before them. It was a stone wall that reached almost to the top of the cavern. Above it they could see sunlight streaming though, at least they hoped it was sunlight.

"We're not gonna make it!"

Almost on cue, half the ceiling collapsed behind them sending the water high into the air.

"You have got to be kidding me" Velma gasped as the boat was once again lifted into the out of the water.

They sailed over the wall, the top of the mast snapping the ceiling as they did. They burst out into the sunlight and crashed hard into the sand. The ship shattered and dust was kicked up into the air. When everything settled there were five meddling kids with a dog, three horses, a prince, a Bedouin, and a freshly conscious tomb robbed all sputtering sand and water out of their mouths.

"What the hell was that?" Fred coughed pushing himself to his feet.

"Like, remind me to stop doing extracurricular stuff."

"Oh, come on" Daphne sputtered. "That can't be the first time that's happened to all of you"

"You see, I can't tell if you're kidding."

"Ri rell wet dog… roh, right."

"It would appear that the legends of Ankha's army taking a boat straight from the underworld had some truth to them" Omar mused surveying the wrecked craft.

"Yeah, that was definitely a boat ride from hell" Jimmy said nauseously. "Excuse me" He doubled over behind a rock and began losing the little food he had eaten that day.

"We seem to have come out of some kind of cave" Akbar deduced observing the large dripping cavern behind them.

"Oh brilliant good for you, you win" Von Butch sneered still tied to the remains of the mast. "Are you going to untie me?"

"Why on earth would we do that?" Velma said pulling the bandana from around Von Butch's neck and shoving it into her mouth. "Quiet now."

"MMMMFFFFFIIIMMMM" She glowed.

"Right back at you."

"I see you have all come out unscathed" a man said riding up on horseback. It was Akbar's men, leading a convoy of camels, horses, and trucks filled with mummies and mercenaries. "I am afraid that the city collapsed completely."

"Then the royal records of the rebellion are gone" Omar said downcast.

"I wouldn't say that" Velma smiled unzipping one of the large pockets on her vest. She pulled out a set of very intact scrolls. "I took as many as I could, including the record of the rebellion."

"Way to go Velma!"

**Part 27: Unwrapping the Mummy**

"If it weren't you Amahl, I wouldn't believe it" The policeman said after all of the prisoners had been put into cells.

"How do you know him?" Fred whispered.

"I have been affiliated with the police before" Akbar grinned.

"So, who is it behind the mask" The policeman asked pointing to the semi petrified figure strapped to a chair in the interrogation room.

"If I'm right" Velma said pulling of the broken mask. "It should be …"

"Professor Muller" Omar exclaimed.

"Exactly, I figured it out when Fred and Daphne said he was looking through scrolls. Muller's life's work was on the rebellion, if his findings were false now he could lose everything. I also realized that he needed us and Von Butch's mercenaries to get him around."

"But he couldn't have known that they would come."

"He didn't, he planned on getting the archeology team to help him, but when Von butch came, he adapted. I also realized that all of his mummy warriors were the extra security that he ordered."

"So that's why they were able to go toe to toe with Von Butch's men?"

"But how did he freeze people?"

"We got that part" Fred said with pride."It was a paralyzing gas stored in a canister in his sleeve…"

"…And stone colored spray paint that he sprayed to make it look like his victims had turned to stone." Daphne finished.

"The flowers of the firestone" Velma exclaimed. "When it's burned the gas caused temporary paralysis."

"And like Muller was a gardener."

"Plus I recognized the smell of the burning flowers from when he turned Doctor O'Reilly to stone, and the smell of spray paint."

"And he would be able to rig the museum doors to open on command because he worked there" Daphne concluded.

"Plastic" Jimmy announced out of nowhere as he examined the mask. "That's why it didn't look real, he made it out of plastic."

"But how did he know what Ankha looked like?"

"Romar"

"Yes of course" Omar said. "He knew that I was a descendent of the family. He fashioned the mask after me.

"I just got lucky" Muller said stirring. "I found evidence of Hotep's innocence long ago, at the same time I found out about the map room in the Sphinx and the samples of firestone flower. It was such a marvelous discovery, but it would have ruined me. When I found out that O' Reilly was close to finding what he thought was Ankha's tomb, I knew I had to stop his progress to prevent him from finding the lost city, just long enough for me to destroy the records. I made the statues of myself and Baltus in advance. I created the gas and paint sprayer in case I had to give live demonstration of my power. Then I would let the discovery come out. I just wanted to erase a little piece of history."

"You're just as bad as Von Butch" Velma said indignantly. "You just wanted to protect yourself no matter what or who got in your way."

"I'm not like here, I never killed."

"What about Melbourne and Doctor Najib?"

"They're both in a hospital in Cairo under heavy sedation… I only wanted to get rid of a little piece."

"Well you ended up getting rid of much more than that" The officer said pulling him up and pushing him into the cell with the others. "You and the tomb robber deserve each other."

**Part 28: The Gala**

The Museum was beautifully decorated. The food was delicious, and the band was spectacular. It was a night to remember, but the best parts were the treasures of Shakenkamen and the mummy of its newly vindicated savior. The crowd was suitably large. They all silenced when Doctor Najib took the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen, bear with me I have been shot recently. It would seem the days of violent archeology are not yet over." Everyone laughed. "Although I am saddened by the loss of Professor Muller, it gives me great pleasure to welcome our museum's newest guest, prince Hotep of Shakenkamen, the savior of his people." The crowd erupted into applause which he silenced with a gentle raise of his hand. "If I now may introduce the people responsible for this discovery, Doctor Melbourne O' Reilly, Prince Omar Kara, Miss Velma Dinkley, Mister Fredrick Jones, Miss Daphne Blake, Mister James Proudwolf, Mister Norville Rogers, and Mister Scoobert Doo." The crowd cheered again. Eventually they dispersed into the party.

"Nice suit" Daphne laughed seeing Fred's tweed suit and orange bowtie. "Where did you get that?"

"Actually your dad let me have it from the attic at Blake Hall, this is the same suit that got me into Locksley's office last winter, I kind of like it."

"You are a weirdo" She laughed again.

"Says the girl who's keeping the kukri knife."

"It's nice, and useful" She defended. "Besides aren't you keeping your little dart gun?"

"Nope" He shook his head. "Not my style, I left it with the police."

"So no souvenir?"

"Oh I wouldn't say that" he said closing his fingers around the orange bandana in his pocket. He took Daphne's hand and led her onto the dance floor.

"That is one beautiful piece of artwork" Jimmy mused at the golden sarcophagus.

"Like if you say so man"

"As a matter of fact I do. Say, why aren't you over there with Velma?"

"She's talking with Omar about Egypt stuff, I can't follow that stuff, besides, I'm in recovery and food heals all wounds."

"Shaggy" Jimmy said frankly. "I blind man can see that you like her, why don't you do anything?"

"Jimmy, I'm not an idiot"

"I never said you were"

"I did… like her, I mean, but I figure that she's not interested, maybe I should just move on. I'm gonna go hit the snack table again."

"Think that'll last?" Jimmy said to Scooby once Shaggy was out of earshot.

"Ruh uh" Scooby shook his head.

"Agreed"

Velma looked out over the Nile River.

"We lost so much" She sighed.

"We lost nothing that we didn't have before, but we gained much because of you and your friends. You would make a wonderful archeologist."

"I'd like to think so, but I don't think I like it for the right reasons. I like uncovering the mystery, but that's it, that makes everything exciting."

"Well perhaps one day you will find a job that lets you do that."

**Part 29: The Con**

Melbourne met Amahl out by the museum that night while everyone was inside celebrating.

"Did they learn Vin Butch's true allegiance? " Amahl asked with his hand on his sword hilt where there was a symbol carved; a V over an H.

"No, she won't tell, not if she values her life." Melbourne answered fingering the shark tooth necklace around his neck which bore the same symbol. "It's lucky you were in the area to help."

"My men and I were on our way to strengthen the guard at Hamunaptra. When we learned his agents were pursuing Shakenkamen we diverted our attentions."

"You were supposed to aid the guard, your man told me that Demas was bringing in his people."

"Which man?"

"Bey"

"Bey has been sick for a month, he has only just recovered."

"Oh no!" Melbourne said as both their eyes widened. "They conned us."

"Von Butch was a distraction, Hamunaptra is unguarded."

"You get your men over there, I'll alert Van Ghoul."

**Part 30: Hamunaptra**

"Took you long enough" Knudsen snarled as he found himself materialized outside of the prison walls.

"It's not easy getting a man out of prison even with magic." Said the portly man next to him as he stroked his pointed black beard.

"It had to be easier since those Van Helsing morons weren't concentrating on me."

"Yes, putting yourself among Muller's men was a stroke of genius, but how could you be sure that you would not be shot with the others?"

"I couldn't, that's why they made sure only to use tranquilizers on all of the 'mummies'."

"Quite clever, do you have the scroll?"

"Of course" he said pulling an ancient scroll out of his shirt. "One copy of the scroll of Thoth, straight from the temple at Shakenkamen."

"What about the meddling boy recognizing you and taking the book; will that be a problem?"

"It was completely on purpose; the Van Helsing agents know that those kids attract trouble, so when they got into it, they would be further distracted. Now Krudsky, are we going or not?"

"We are" the man said sweeping his arms down. The two men disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Once a stage magician, always a stage magician" Knudsen coughed as they reappeared deep in the desert. Before them stood an ancient city, almost completely destroyed from the last great battle that took place their back in the thirties. "Where's my hardware?"

Krudsky handed the man a long wood axe in a holster which he secured to his back.

"I suppose that's why they called you the woodsman"

"I suppose. How are we going to deal with the guards that are here?"

"Simple petrifaction spell; they needn't ever know we were here."

"Awe, I was hoping for some fun" Knudsen smirked as Krudsky waved his hands at the city.

The two men walked in past the petrified guards. They weaved their way to the middle of the city where a doorway led down into an ancient tomb.

"Should we be worried about him, he was the one who helped Hotep stop the master's plan to use Ankha to take over Egypt."

"We have the thing he loves most, he will aid us."

Finnaly they stopped at a large sarcophagus with a name carved onto it.

"Give me the scroll" Krudsky ordered. Knudsen handed it to him. Krudsky opened it up and began reading. "Ahm kum Ra. Ahm kum Dei. Rise Imhotep, rise to serve your new master."

**End Part 7**

**I will not rest until every minor character from every version of Scooby Doo has a roll to play. As you may have noticed I'm a big fan of the action adventure genre; Indiana Jones, The Mummy, Uncharted, this was me transferring that to Scooby Doo. Next story has no title yet but will see the gang back in school and dealing with aliens. Lastly, if you've been following this series from the beginning (which I hope you have otherwise it really might get confusing) first of all thank you, and second of all don't worry all of the questions will be answered, this has been in planning for a while. Until next time then, thanks for reading.  
**


End file.
